HR technology unicorn Darwinbox has announced new funding of $140 million to fuel its international expansion plans and further its technology development.

The funding was led by Partners Group and funds managed by KKR, with additional participation by Gravity Holdings.

Darwinbox provides a mobile-first Human Capital Management (HCM) platform designed to encompass the entire employee lifecycle, including workforce management, employee experience, compensation and benefits, and people analytics.

Founded in 2015, Darwinbox secured $15 million funding from Salesforce Ventures in 2021 on top of its previous $35 million total.

In 2022, Darwinbox achieved unicorn status following a $72 million Series D funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), which has previously invested in the likes of Netflix, Facebook and Spotify, among others.

Cyrus Driver, Managing Director, Private Equity, at Partners Group, commented: “The company is acting as a key disruptor to legacy platforms in this space, investing heavily in product innovation, generative AI and global expansions, and is well position to take market share.”

Next stop for Darwinbox, further growth in the US market

Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH about the latest funding round, Darwinbox Co-Founder Jayant Paleti says the investment will help progress expansion into new markets, building on its existing presence in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, North America and the UK, the “priority of which is the US, where we’ve seen tremendous growth and demand in the past two years”.

Since launching in 2019, Darwinbox has built a client portfolio of more than 1,000 organizations – including the likes of Starbucks, Nivea, AXA, Cigna, WeWork, and T-Systems – representing more than 3 million employees.

Paleti tells UNLEASH that the new backing from Partners Group and KKR “validates our work” in challenging the “long-standing industry incumbents built on legacy solutions” and will help drive a more modern technology option for current needs.

Aiming to take on established technology players such as Deel and Rippling in the HCM space, Darwinbox has recently rolled out enhancements to its platform including a multi-country payroll solution and enhanced generative AI features.

“Darwinbox is helping enterprises deliver and scale AI-driven HR processes with a consumer-like user experience,” Paleti adds.

We’ve long pressed ourselves on making HR software feel intuitive, flexible and mobile-first in an evolving world of work, and the market has responded incredibly well. Today’s news is testament to that.”