Netflix investor takes Darwinbox to unicorn status

The importance of HR technology has been accelerated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has led to an increasing number of unicorns in the sector.

The latest company to join this sought-after billion-dollar valuation is India-based Darwinbox.

Darwinbox works with 650 large enterprises to engage their talent with its mobile-first HR lifecycle platform providing workforce management, employee engagement, compensation and benefits, people analytics, and HR service delivery suites.

The company has seen its value rise sharply with the need for remote and hybrid working arrangements. In fact, the company’s value has grown 200% since the last round of investment from Salesforces Ventures last year.

This offering has led to a $72 million Series D funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) alongside contributions from existing investors Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, 3One4Capital, JGDEV, and SCB 10X.

TCV has 79 IPOs in their portfolio including the likes of Netflix, Facebook, Expedia, Spotify, Airbnb, GoDaddy, and Gitlab;  with this in mind, Darwinbox is in good company.

The future of Darwinbox’s technology

The mobility of Darwinbox’s platform has made it a hit in Asia, and the company now has big plans for expansion on the back of significant investment.

Darwinbox intends to use its latest investment to invest in its product, double its staff headcount, and expand its presence in South Asia, SEA, and MENA. Additionally, the company wants to launch its product in the US this year.

Jayant Paleti, the co-founder of Darwinbox, noted: “This investment energizes our mission to continue building technology that enables organizations to unlock the highest potential of their people.

“We have done this by building a product that puts employees squarely at the center and crafting meaningful experiences for them.

“This has especially found resonance in this rapidly evolving world of work over the last two years with companies having to rethink how they attract, manage and retain their talent.”

In terms of the product, Chaitanya Peddi, co-founder and product head of Darwinbox, added: “Building for extraordinary agility and delivering stellar employee experience have been critical in defining success for Darwinbox’s customers.

“We will continue to invest in new and innovative technology to deliver a frictionless experience for the work-from-anywhere workforce.

“In addition, this year, we will be bolstering our platform offering with a host of ancillary services and solutions that enterprises can plug and play to compose an integrated HR tech ecosystem.”

Jessica Neal, former chief talent officer at Netflix and a venture partner at TCV, shared her excitement about this deal: “Investing behind technology to manage talent has become inevitable for organizational success.

“Darwinbox’s demonstrated ability to build agile, innovative and user-friendly solutions along with deep customer-centricity has made them a platform of choice for several leading enterprises.”

Time will now tell whether Darwinbox can match the success of other TCV-backed companies.