Microsoft Invests in Asian HR Software DarwinBox to Collaborate, Integrate Product Ecosystem

Asian human resources technology services provider DarwinBox has been funded by Microsoft Corp., as a part of the company's investment to retain employees. The company received funding last quarter from Microsoft and the State Bank of India, without revealing the exact amount.

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Attendees walk past the logo of US multinational technology company Microsoft during the Web Summit in Lisbon on November 6, 2019. - Europe's largest tech event Web Summit is held at Parque das Nacoes in Lisbon from November 4 to November 7.

Investing in DarwinBox

In an undisclosed amount, Microsoft became a strategic investor as they invested in Asia-Based human resources software company DarwinBox. Through this collaboration, Bloomberg reported that both companies will be integrating their ecosystems and co-innovating solutions to enhance employee experience.

This will include integrations with different platforms like LinkedIn, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Viva, Azure Active Directory, and more.

Through DarwinBox's AI-based predictive engine, several visual analytics dashboards will be built, employees across customer organizations will more effectively use data, and business decisions will be faster.

DarwinBox Co-Founder Jayant Paletti stated, "We have a customer base of close to 750 and almost 80-85 percent of these customers are already using Microsoft ecosystem. This integration will further elevate that. This will also further add muscle to our global expansion plans."

He added that this partnership took some time to architect as he did not describe this as "not just as an investment" but more of like an integration of their products.

This will be Microsoft's first partnership in the HRMS space in Asia, which will be a unique and interesting experience for DarwinBox to see such a product platform coming from India.

Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari stated, "Across the country, organizations big and small are making possible new ways of doing business and we are pleased to work closely with leaders like Darwinbox, who are completely reimagining the frontiers of employee experience with the power of technology."

The collaboration between the two companies was one of the focused partnerships of Microsoft as the company creates deeper partnerships.

Business Standard reported that the human resources software is based in Asia, meaning that it has a large customer base in India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Over 750 enterprises and two million employees around the world are using DarwinBox as their cloud-based platform. Additionally, the company garnered two times revenue growth in early 2022 for its Series D unicorn funding.

Previous DarwinBox Fundings

DarwinBox raised $72 million in a financing round led by Technology Crossover Ventures, backed by Netflix, Meta Platforms, and Spotify. Salesforce's venture arm Sequoia Capital India and Lightspeed India are also participants. This will include customers like HDFC Bank, Aviva Single, and Tokopedia.

Economic Times reported that the company's clients are notable brands like Nivea, Starbucks, Dominos, T-Systems, AXA, Cigna, JSW, Adani, Vedanta, Mahindra, SBI General, Shoppers Stop, Kotak, NSE, Makemytrip, and Swiggy.