HR tech startup Keka raises $57 Mn from WestBridge Capital

Hyderabad-based HR tech firm Keka has raised $57 million in a series A funding from WestBridge Capital. The fundraise comes months after it raised $1.6 million in non-dilutive growth capital from Recur Club, a subscription-based financing platform. 

Following the latest fundraise, the startup plans to invest in research and development and expand engineering, product, and customer teams. 

Founded in 2015 by Vijay Yalamanchili, Keka provides HR-related solutions that aim to streamline and automate payroll, recruiting, leave and attendance, performance management, and more. 

Keka said that it had reached the 100-customer milestone in 2017. By 2021, it had more than 5,500 customers. Some of its prominent clients include upGrad, RazorPay, Dream11, and Hitachi, among others. It currently facilitates the payroll of more than 1.5 million employees every month, the startup said in a press release.

Keka is looking to tap into India’s booming HR tech market, which was valued at $23.32 billion in 2021. The market is poised to hit $38.36 billion by 2030. Unsurprisingly, there is a rising interest in investors as well. According to an estimate, HR-tech startups have secured over $600 million in investments since 2020. 

In January, HR tech firm Darwinbox became the fourth unicorn of the year following $72 million in its Series D round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) along with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, 3One4Capital, JGDEV and SCB 10X.

Some other popular HR tech platforms in India are iMocha, Advantage Club, Belong, and PeopleStrong.