125 Startups Transforming Human Resources Across Recruiting, Benefits, Payroll, And More

HR tech startups have seen considerable momentum, raising $2.4B in 2015. With funding and deal count reaching all-time highs, we decided to dig into HR tech on a more granular level. Startups in the HR tech space are addressing pain points like staffing, recruiting, employee benefits, and much more.

We used CB Insights data to identify 115 private companies in HR tech as well as 10 exited investor-backed companies bringing the market map’s total to 125 companies. We mapped them according to the eight main categories in which they’re operating. The 125 HR tech startups included are addressing productivity, recruiting tools, freelancer and contractor hiring, perks, job search, operations, payroll, and insurance.

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The breakdown is as follows:

• Recruiting Tools: This was the largest category in the market map. It includes company-information service GlassDoor as well as Hireology. This section includes Applicant Tracking as a sub category and counts Greenhouse Software in the section, among several others.   
• Recruiting Marketplaces & Job Search Platform: Companies in this category include short-term job matching marketplace Jobbatical and job search engine Simply Hired. These startups are making it easier to find, post, and search for employment, among other things.
• Recruiting: Contractors/Freelancers: Startups in this category are addressing on demand workers and part-time freelancers. Examples include HourlyNerd, which connects small- and mid-sized businesses to part-time consultants as well as HR software company, PeopleMatter.
• Operations Management: HR outsourcing software OneSource Virtual is one of the more well-funded companies in the category, having raised $165M in funding to date. Companies here are addressing payroll, benefits, and other services.
• HR Insurance/Benefits: Companies here are either brokering health insurance via HR and payroll software channels or helping insurance brokers modernize their operations. The category includes Gusto and Namely, which have raised $136M and $103M in funding to date, respectively.
• Employee Perks: Startups here include employee reward software Bonusly, which counts FirstMark Capital and Bloomberg Beta as investors. This is the smallest category in the market map.
• Culture & Productivity: Companies here measure, quantify, and improve employee culture and productivity through technology. The category includes company culture startup CultureIQ as well as Culture Amp, which uses analytics to provide insights on employee engagement and company culture.
• Select HR Tech Exits: Notable exits in HR tech include Workday and job-search site Indeed, which exited for $4.4B and $1.4B, respectively.

See the full company list, below:

Want more information on HR tech companies? Check out our venture capital database below.