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As businesses worldwide saw in 2020 and 2021, work still needs to happen even during a global health crisis. The sudden rise in remote work caused more and more human resources departments to begin searching for digital solutions for recruiting, hiring and managing their staffs.
This increased reliance on technology, though originally jumpstarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, will only continue to grow in 2024, according to Gartner.
Couple that with a projected HR spending increase in 2024 and beyond, and the conditions are ripe for innovative HR tech companies to experience massive growth. We’ve scoured the internet for 20 HR startups that offer businesses a digital alternative to recruitment process management, leadership development, misconduct reporting, and more.
1. TestGorilla
5-year search growth: 99x+
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2019
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Funding: $81.2M (Series A)
What they do: TestGorilla is an HR startup that offers a comprehensive online assessment tool for employers to evaluate job candidates’ skills and abilities. The platform has a library of over 120 tests for various industries, including IT, finance, and healthcare, as well as non-technical roles like customer service and sales. Test results are automatically generated and scored, helping employers make more informed hiring decisions.
2. Personio
5-year search growth: 285%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2015
Location: Munich, Germany
Funding: $724.3M (Series E)
What they do: Personio is an SME-focused HR software company based in Germany. Their technology provides solutions for streamlined hiring, centralized HR document and data management, and payroll tasks. After the startup’s last $200 million funding round, it was valued at $8.5 billion. Today, the company has more than 12,000 total customers.
3. Eightfold AI
5-year search growth: 567%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: Santa Clara, California
Funding: $396.8M (Series E)
What they do: Eightfold offers a suite of talent intelligence solutions, including a Talent Management Platform and options to improve talent acquisition, talent management, diversity, equity, inclusion, and more. The company generated $58.8 million in revenue in 2023 and surpassed 100 customers.
4. Arcoro
5-year search growth: 850%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2018
Location: Los Angeles, California
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Arcoro is a cloud-based HR software that helps construction companies hire, manage, and grow their workforce. Key features include applicant tracking, onboarding, time tracking, benefits management, and performance management. More than 7,500 companies currently use Acoro.
5. Glints
5-year search growth: 362%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2013
Location: Singapore, Singapore
Funding: $82.2M (Series D)
What they do: Glints is a Southeast Asian job matching and employee development company with a reach of 5M+ workers and 50,000+ companies since its 2013 inception. The company offers various services like job search, career discovery, skills education, and networking. Currently, Glints is available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
6. iMocha (Formerly Interview Mocha)
5-year search growth: 5,700%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Pune, India
Funding: $14.7M (Series A)
What they do: iMocha, which changed its name from Interview Mocha in a rebranding effort, provides employers with the skills assessment capabilities they need to properly evaluate candidates during the recruitment process. Hiring managers can leverage their library of over 2,000 skills, video interview capabilities, custom skills assessments, and more. Amit D. Mishra and Sujit Karpe founded iMocha in the mid-2010s to make recruitment more efficient.
7. SeekOut
5-year search growth: 57%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2016
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Funding: $188.6M (Series C)
What they do: SeekOut uses AI technology to give recruiting professionals greater insights into potential employees and achieve better hiring outcomes. In particular, they help companies source technical, rare, or diverse talent. Today, SeekOut has more than 1,000 customers including big brands like Salesforce, Workday, and Experian.
8. PayFit
5-year search growth: 117%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Paris, France
Funding: $495.8M (Series E)
What they do: PayFit assists businesses with payroll automation, leave and absence management, employee onboarding, and more. Customers can manage tasks and processes on the go with their mobile app. The startup first launched in France and has since expanded to Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy. In 2024, PayFit supports more than 10,000 customers across Europe.
9. Iziwork
5-year search growth: 60%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2018
Location: Paris, France
Funding: $62.3M (Series B)
What they do: Iziwork links temp workers with open positions and provides on-the-job support through its online staffing platform. Candidates can onboard directly from the mobile app, access personalized job recommendations, and access time savings accounts and weekly pay advances. Overall, the company has more than 1.7 million candidate profiles and 3,000+ customers.
10. Pickr
5-year search growth: 25%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2016
Location: Norwich, England
Funding: $1.2M (Seed)
What they do: Pickr is a recruiting platform that seeks to connect highly skilled contractors and engineers with companies in the infrastructure space. Companies benefit from the platform’s streamlined hiring assistance, and skilled workers can earn more for their effort. Founder Kane Halsey, inspired by his own experiences with inefficient staffing, launched the company in 2017.
11. Justworks
5-year search growth: 9,600%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2012
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $159.8M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Justworks is an all-in-one HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance platform for small and growing businesses (2-250 employees). The software includes payroll processing, tax filing, HR tools, compliance support, time tracking, and much more. In November 2023, the startup announced $16.8 million in new funding from 19 investors.
12. Sitedocs
5-year search growth: 291%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2011
Location: Abbotsford, Canada
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Sitedocs is a cloud-based software solution that helps companies streamline their safety and compliance processes. With features such as digital forms and checklists, hazard assessments, and incident reporting, Sitedocs makes it easy for businesses to manage their safety and compliance requirements in one central location. The platform is particularly well-suited for companies in industries such as construction, oil and gas, and manufacturing, where safety compliance is a top priority.
13. Connecteam
5-year search growth: 4,900%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $158M (Series C)
What they do: Built for companies with non-desk workers, Connecteam is an employee management and communication platform that streamlines daily operations, facilitates training and development, simplifies scheduling, and more. The company currently has over 1 million users who have scheduled more than 295 million shifts using the platform.
14. Awardco
5-year search growth: 770%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2012
Location: Provo, Utah
Funding: $70M (Series A)
What they do: Awardco is an employee rewards and recognition platform that helps companies boost productivity, reduce spending, and build company culture. The platform includes recognition programs, a rewards network, incentive programs, Lifestyle Spending Accounts, etc. The company supports over 4.2 million users and reported 16+ million employee recognitions last year.
15. Globalization Partners
5-year search growth: 73%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Funding: $350M (Private Equity)
What they do: Globalization Partners is a human resources (HR) startup that helps companies expand internationally without the need to set up local subsidiaries or branch offices. Their platform allows businesses to quickly and compliantly hire employees in over 185 countries while handling all legal, tax, and HR aspects of the employment process.
16. Beamery
5-year search growth: 9%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: London, England
Funding: $223M (Series D)
What they do: Beamery offers a recruitment journey management platform that helps companies find, interact with, and keep the best employees for their organizations. Brothers Sultan Murad Saidov and Abakar Saidov and friend Mike Paterson started the company in response to their experience finding jobs in a recession. Since its launch in 2013, Beamery has grown to over 170 employees and has been recognized by Tech Nation, Deloitte Fast 50, and others for its potential.
17. Papaya Global
5-year search growth: 500%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: New York, NY
Funding: $444.5M (Series D)
What they do: Papaya Global is a SaaS payroll platform that helps businesses manage global payroll for multiple types of employees more efficiently. Their comprehensive platform helps companies stay on top of employment costs, centralize payroll management, leverage various HRIS features, and more. The startup has over 2,000 customers and more than $7 billion in payroll under management.
18. Staffbase
5-year search growth: 63%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: Chemnitz, Germany
Funding: $305.8M (Series E)
What they do: Staffbase offers a communication platform to improve the way businesses work and collaborate. The platform is ideal for professionals in multiple industries, including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and more. In March 2021, Staffbase and Bananatag joined forces to bolster Staffbase’s reputation as a leading internal communications company and grow their combined reach. Staffbase recently acquired Valo, the leading intranet provider for Microsoft 365. This acquisition creates the world’s largest internal communications company.
19. Workpay
5-year search growth: 800%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2017
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Funding: $10.3M (Series A)
What they do: Workpay is an HR and payroll software designed to streamline employee management processes for businesses across Africa. The startup has experienced rapid growth, doubling revenue every year since 2021. Currently, Workpay supports more than 700 customers and processes $200 million in total payroll value each year. In August 2024, the startup raised $5 million in Series A funding to expand operations in Africa.
20. HiBob
5-year search growth: 314%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2015
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $574M (Series D)
What they do: HiBob is an HR platform with core management capabilities, including time and attendance tracking, leave management, scheduling, etc. In September 2023, the startup raised $150 million in Series D funding to expand and build new partnerships. Today, HiBob supports over 3,500 customers.
Conclusion
One theme in this list of HR startups really stands out: recruiting. Several companies on this list focus on upgrading recruiting and hiring processes, whether through providing employers with skills assessment tools, using AI to evaluate job candidates, or developing better job matching platforms.
Beyond this area, the companies compiled here are evidence of a growing interest in digitizing general HR processes and providing next-level employee engagement and development services.
