With Indeed’s recent acquisition for a rumored valuation of $1 billion and the upcoming IPO of Workday, it is safe to assume that investor interest which has always been high for the HR & Recruiting space will climb further. When we talk about the HR & Recruiting space on CB Insights, we are including solutions focused on recruiting, talent/human capital management as well as things like staff augmentation.
But even before the mega Indeed acquisition and IPO filing of Workday, venture capitalists were clearly getting more hot & bothered about the industry. In fact, both financing dollars and deals to the HR & Recruiting space rose to new highs in the first quarter of 2012 as venture capital firms poured in $212 million in 24 deals in that quarter alone. Although funding fell significantly in Q2 2012 with the absence of large deals, financing deal activity remained high in the quarter. As those of you who read our research know, we view deal activity as the better gauge of industry health generally as it is not subject to the wild swings introduced by a single large financing round or two.
In total, over the last 10 quarters, investors have put almost $1 billion ($966 million) into 157 financing transactions for companies focused on solving challenges faced in the HR & Recruiting industry.
