Salesforce Ventures invests $15 Mn in HRtech platform DarwinBox

HR technology platform DarwinBox has secured $15 million in a round led by Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of global customer relationship management giant Salesforce. This is the first-ever investment by Salesforce Ventures in India and one of the first in the APAC region. 

Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners and 3one4 Capital also participated in the fresh financing round. The fresh proceeds would help the five-year-old SaaS-based HRtech platform to expand its reach to Southeast and West Asian markets. 

Salesforce would also leverage DarwinBox to service local customers efficiently along with its clientele base across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The backing would also smoothen Salesforce’s distribution network in these regions to grow its business and presence. 

With the fresh infusion, DarwinBox has raised $35 million in funding till now. In 2019, the firm had secured $15 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital. Lightspeed Ventures, 3one4 Capital and Endiya Partners also invested in the second institutional round.

“Given their (Salesforce) leadership in the cloud, they’ve accumulated a tremendous amount of knowledge over the years. We believe that this knowledge will catalyse learning for us at a massive scale and allow us to maximize the value we can deliver to you,'' DrawinBox said in a blog post.

DarwinBox claims to be the third largest SaaS-based HRtech firm after SAP and Oracle. According to its website, the platform has serviced over a million employees across 500 plus organizations and 25 industries. Apart from core HR and workflow management, the company offers attendance, onboarding and performance evaluation features.

The company also equips employees with a social platform to remain connected and an AI assistant that aids in applying for leave or setting up meetings with voice commands from phones. Apart from selling its software in the US and Europe, DarwinBox is expanding its presence across markets such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.