Working Remotely: 65+ HR Tech Startups Outside The US In One Infographic

The US continues to dominate HR tech deal share, with 881 deals in 5 years, or 62% of total deals globally. However, combined, deals to HR tech startups outside the US have been on the rise annually. Starting at 30% of deals in 2012, deals to non-US HR tech companies have been growing and reached a 5-year high of 51% of deals in 2016 (as of 12/7/16).

We used the CB Insights database to analyze total deal share by geography, and dug into deals since 2012 to HR tech startups outside the US, mapping the most well-funded companies in each of the countries outside the US that have seen significant HR tech private market activity.

Deals by geography

There have been deals to HR tech companies in 52 countries between 2012-2016 YTD, with the US as the dominant country for HR tech startup financing during that time period.

Looking beyond the US, the UK accounts for 6% of deals during the time period, India and Canada each account for 4%, followed closely by China which accounts for 3%. The remaining 21% of deals took place in 47 other countries.

Most well-funded HR tech companies outside of the US

For our map, we included startups in countries with at least 4 HR tech companies that received funding since 2012 and included the 3 most well-funded companies in each of those countries during the period. A complete list is at the end of this brief.

Click on the image below to enlarge. 

Top deals and most well-funded companies

• United Kingdom: Deal pace in the UK has seen the fastest growth of any other country. Year-to-date, there have been 27 deals in HR tech in the country, 3 deals short of doubling 2015’s deal total in the space. The most well-funded UK-based company is GENIAC, a payroll and accounting software company. The company’s most recent deal, Grant Thorton’s corporate minority investment for $34.3M, was also the top HR tech deal in the country since 2012. The second most well-funded company in the UK is applicant tracking software (ATS) provider Workable. The company’s latest investment was a $27M Series B investment that included 83North, Notion Capital, and Balderton Capital.
• India: India has been steadily gaining deal share in HR tech, growing from 4 investments in 2012 to 23 deals in 2015. In 2016 year-to-date, there have been 18 deals. Babajob Services, a job marketplace, is the most well-funded company on our list. The company’s latest round was also the largest investment to an India-based HR tech company, a $10M corporate minority investment by SEEK. The second most well-funded HR tech company in the country is Sapience Analytics which received the second-largest investment since 2012, a $7.3M Series B that included Orios Ventures.
• Canada: The top deal outside of the US went to one of the most well-funded companies globally in HR tech and the most well-funded HR tech company in Canada, Ceridian, a payroll and benefits management software. The company received a $150M private equity investment from Fidelity National Financial, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and David Ossip, the former founder of HR software company Dayforce. Dayforce was acquired by Ceridian in Q2’12. The second most well-funded HR tech company in Canada is Visier, a data analytics and workforce-planning tool. Visier’s most recent investment was a $25.5M Series C in Q2’14 that included Foundation Capital and Summit Partners.
• China: Though China’s deal share has slipped compared to UK, India, and Canada, 2 of the most well-funded companies globally in HR tech are based in China. FXiaoKe, a workforce optimization software, is the most well-funded China-based HR tech company. FXiaoKe raised a $50M Series C and $100M Series D that included DCM Ventures, IDG Capital Partners, and Northern Light Venture Capital. The company also raised a $70M Series E-II that included retail giant Beijing Hualian Group. Liepin, a marketplace and recruitment platform for full-time jobs in China, is the second most well-funded China-based HR tech company. The company raised a $70M Series C and a $100M Series D investment that included Matrix Partners China and Warburg Pincus.

Smart money VCs participate in HR tech deals outside the US

Of the 24 top VC firms, selected according to portfolio valuations and investment outcomes, 5 have made investments in HR tech startups outside of the US.

• Index Ventures is the most active smart money VC investor in HR tech startups outside of the US. Index led a $23M Series B investment to SafetyCulture and a $6.3M Series A and $10M Series B to Culture Amp. Both companies provide HR automation tools and are based in Australia.
• New Enterprise Associates, the most active investor in HR tech startups, invested in a $1.8M seed, $8.2M Series A, and followed on with a $15.6M Series B investment to UK-based MOVE Guides. NEA also invested in a $5.2M Series B to India-based Greytip Software.
• Accel Partners invested in a $10M Series A and followed on with a $20M Series B to Luxembourg-based JobToday.
• Union Square Ventures invested in a $2M Series A to Estonia-based Jobbatical, a job marketplace for the the gig economy.
• Bessemer Venture Partners invested in a $7.5M seed to UK-based HRIS software company Hibob.

Note: To analyze smart money trends, we looked at the activity of 24 top VC firms, selected according to portfolio valuations and investment outcomes. Some of the investors are linked to relevant research briefs. Here’s our full list of 24 smart money investors:

1. Sequoia Capital
2. Benchmark Capital
3. Accel Partners
4. Greylock Partners
5. Andreessen Horowitz
6. Union Square Ventures
7. First Round Capital
8. Bessemer Venture Partners
9. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
10. New Enterprise Associates
11. Founders Fund
12. Lightspeed Venture Partners
13. Foundry Group
14. Index Ventures
15. Khosla Ventures
16. Social Capital
17. Emergence Capital Partners
18. True Ventures
19. Floodgate Fund
20. General Catalyst Partners
21. CRV
22. Spark Capital
23. Battery Ventures
24. Redpoint Ventures

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