Darwinbox Secures USD 40 Mn from Ontario Teachers' Venture Growth As part of the deal, Peak XV Partners partially sold its stake in the company.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Hyderabad-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm Darwinbox has raised USD 40 million from Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture and growth arm of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).
The company announced the development on Thursday, stating that the round comprised both primary and secondary transactions at a blended valuation of around USD 1 billion. As part of the deal, Peak XV Partners partially sold its stake in the company.
Darwinbox said the fresh investment will be used to strengthen its international presence, with a sharper focus on North America. Since entering the region in 2022, the company claims to have grown threefold year-on-year and has accelerated its efforts in the US over the last financial year. The company noted that the demand for modern alternatives to legacy human resource suites has been rising, particularly among large enterprises.
This funding comes months after Darwinbox raised USD 140 million in March 2024 in its Series D round led by Partners Group and KKR, with participation from Gravity Holdings. That round also saw the announcement of a USD 10 million employee stock ownership plan buyback. With the latest investment, Darwinbox has now raised a total of USD 280 million.
Founded by Jayant Paleti, Rohit Chennamaneni, and Chaitanya Peddi, Darwinbox provides a cloud-based HR technology platform that covers recruitment, payroll, employee engagement, talent management, and people analytics. The company counts Starbucks, Nivea, Cigna, WeWork and Crisil among its over 1,000 enterprise clients across 130 countries.
Over the years, Darwinbox has expanded into Asia-Pacific, West Asia, the United Kingdom and the United States. In August 2024, it elevated its chief technology officer Vineet Singh to co-founder status, strengthening its leadership team.
The firm also launched an artificial intelligence-powered product suite spanning multiple HR functions and is developing AI-driven agents to support HR professionals in areas such as digital transformation and talent acquisition.
Darwinbox last year partnered with Microsoft to integrate its human capital management platform with Microsoft's tools, aimed at enhancing employee experience. OTPP, through TVG, has previously backed Indian startups including Mintifi, Perfios and Xpressbees.
