B2B SaaS

Q2 202425.04.2024

HR Tech

Picture of Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly

at Sifted

A handful of payroll and HR software companies have become true giants. A trio of US companies — Gusto, Deel and Rippling — are worth more than $9bn, according to Crunchbase data. Europe’s biggest HR tech companies include Remote — valued at more than $3bn — and Germany’s Personio, valued in 2022 at close to $9bn.

Investors flocked to HR tech startups in 2021-22 because they envisaged the complex and messy evolution of the post-pandemic office. As businesses become ever-more hybrid and take on remote staff, HR has had to bring in reinforcements in the form of specialist tools that can steer them through the maze of rules needed for a global workforce, including totally distinct salary and tax laws.

HR teams are also turning to tech because they need to do more with less manpower. Startups are unsurprisingly touting generative AI (GenAI) as a great labour-saver. Stockholm-based Hailey HR, for example, recently introduced a GenAI feature that will help people teams draft policies, contracts and other agreements.

Tech that promises to not only automate but also remove bias from the recruitment process has gained in popularity too. A standout is Amsterdam-based TestGorilla, which works with thousands of global employers and has raised over $80m from investors. Its big idea is to kill the CV and instead hire based on the basis of test scores.

More recently, as the downturn has trundled on, companies have been forced to take an axe to their SaaS subscriptions in a bid to save money. HR tech will be among the last tools you'll find on the chopping block.

20 startups to watch

Sifted score
9.99
-
TestGorilla
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2020
- HQ
  Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Latest round
  Series A
  €63.6m / Jun 2022
- Total funding
  €73.8m
View company profile
Sifted score
8.12
-
Maki People
Strong investor(s)
- Year founded
  2021
- HQ
  Paris, France
- Latest round
  Seed
  €6m / Nov 2021
- Total funding
  €6m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.98
-
Screenloop
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
- Year founded
  2021
- HQ
  Canterbury, United Kingdom
- Latest round
  Seed
  €6.8m / Jun 2022
- Total funding
  €9.1m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.55
-
Bloom
Strong investor(s)
- Year founded
  2022
- HQ
  London, United Kingdom
- Latest round
  Seed
  €9.1m / Nov 2023
- Total funding
  €9.1m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.38
-
Figures.hr
Strong investor(s)
- Year founded
  2020
- HQ
  Nanterre, France
- Latest round
  Seed
  €6.9m / Sep 2022
- Total funding
  €8.6m
View company profile

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