While funding in the HR-tech startup space plateaued this year after seeing its biggest peak in 2015, entrepreneurial and investor sentiment in the space has remained unscathed. As many as 65 new HR tech startups have emerged in India so far this year, according to startup research platform Tracxn.

The figure, however, is dwarfed by last year’s activity, which saw 235 new HR-tech startups spring up. Last year, $49 million was invested in the sector in over 31 rounds. This year, only about $16 million has been invested in the space, according to Tracxn.

The startups that took home most of this capital were Greytip ($5 million), Aasaanjobs ($5 million), Sheroes ($2 million), Better Place ($1 million) and Niyo Solutions ($1 million). While this year’s numbers may seem dull compared to the highs of 2015, investor sentiment around the HR space remains strong, according to Sairee Chahal, CEO, Sheroes. The jobs and career platform for women raised money last month from Lumis Partners and HR Fund, which is one of the few HR-focused funds in the world.

“While there was an overall slowdown, it allowed investors to look outside the hot sectors like ecommerce”, Chahal said. “They (Lumis Partners and HR Fund) have increased their pace by investing in Sheroes and Knolskape, and are bullish on further investments in the space. There are also others who raised funds including Greytip, Zwayam, FeetApart, Happy2Refer”. A big boost to investor sentiment in the HR sector was the IPO of recruiting company Teamlease earlier this year. “The IPO raised the sentiment in HR investing”, Chahal said.

The promise in the HR startup space in the country was further consolidated by recruitment firm Kelly Services India, which rolled out aventure capital fund mainly for HR startups last month. Kelly introduced the Temp Innovation Fund along with its joint venture partner Temp Holdings, a Japanese HR company, in India, its third country after Japan and the US.

Source: Economic Times

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