TDM, Sequoia lead Series F for Australia's Culture Amp
Culture Amp, an Australia-headquartered enterprise technology provider specializing in human resources (HR), has $100 million in Series F funding at a valuation of $1.5 billion.
The round was led by TDM Growth Partners and Sequoia Capital China. Salesforce Ventures came in as a new investor, while there were re-ups from Felicis Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Index Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Skip Capital, Grok Ventures, and Global Founders Capital.
Sequoia also led Culture Amp’s $82 million Series E in 2019, with participation from all the investors mentioned above – except Salesforce Ventures – plus Hostplus. The $40 million Series D closed a year earlier, with Blackbird taking the lead. Total funding since inception in 2010 is $258 million.
The company is among the most valuable players in Australia’s workforce management software niche, which has emerged as an investor sweet spot in recent years. Around 10 start-ups have received significant funding, with several emerging as global players and achieving unicorn status.
In the past fortnight, Employment Hero secured $140 million in Series E funding at a valuation of $800 million, while Go1 is now worth $1 billion following a $200 million Series D. Culture Amp has yet to surpass SafetyCulture, which was most recently valued at $1.7 billion.
There is a considerable amount of crossover in terms of investors. Salesforce Ventures also features in the cap tables of Employment Hero and Go1, Insight has exposure to Employment Hero, and Blackbird and TDM are both in SafetyCulture.
Culture Amp pioneered the application of behavioral science and data analytics across the employee lifecycle. Drawing on workforce feedback, it provides insights and recommends actions that are intended to improve employee engagement and performance management. The shift to hybrid and remote working has proved a boon as companies reconsider approaches to HR.
Established in Melbourne, Culture Amp opened its first overseas offices in San Francisco and New York in 2015, followed by a London base a year later. It claims the largest HR dataset globally, having worked with 4,000 companies and 25 million employees. Customers include Salesforce, Unilever, PwC, SoulCycle, and BigCommerce.
“Culture Amp is the clear leader in employee experience, and as a customer for many years we’ve seen firsthand the power of the Culture Amp platform to drive meaningful change in the workplace,” said Rob Keith, head of Australia at Salesforce Ventures, in a statement.
“We seek to invest in the most innovative cloud companies and founders, solving the world's most pressing challenges globally - Culture Amp is at the forefront of driving positive behavior change at work and we look forward to contributing to the company’s continued growth and success."
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