led the company鈥檚 Series A, which was raised in just three weeks and included participation from repeat backers and . The round also included an investment from new strategic backer , a real estate and technology investment firm. It brings New York-based Trayd鈥檚 total funding to $17 million.

Co-founder and CEO grew up in a New York construction family, watching her father navigate razor-thin margins and complex compliance requirements.

鈥淚 saw firsthand the operational strain that comes with juggling union rules, multistate labor laws, and endless manual back-office processes,鈥� she recalls.

The experience inspired her to team up with , the company鈥檚 CTO, who spent 10 years as 鈥檚 web platform lead, to start Trayd in 2021.

Specialty trade service

For the unacquainted, specialty trade contractors are businesses that place skilled workers on job sites to perform the actual physical building work. These contractors include concrete crews, electricians, plumbers, ironworkers, painters and fireproofing. They’re distinct from general contractors, who manage and coordinate projects overall but don’t typically perform the hands-on trade work themselves.

Trayd automates payroll, HR, compliance and labor cost tracking for such contractors. Among the benefits it touts are providing real-time visibility into the costs of labor, equipment and materials.

The startup aims to substantially cut the time specialty trade contractors spend on its weekly payroll and compliance process.

鈥淲hat used to take 14 hours of manual work can now be done in under 30 minutes,鈥� Berger told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News.

Trayd is working to fill what it believes is a unique gap in the market. While there are significantly more specialty trade contractors than general contractors, the majority of construction technology has been built for the latter, Berger believes.

The startup鈥檚 closest competitors are legacy payroll providers like and , along with newer companies like and .

鈥淭he difference is that most of these systems weren鈥檛 built for the complexity of specialty trades,鈥� Berger explains. 鈥淭rayd was.鈥�

Streamlining payroll

In construction, compensation is uniquely complex, Berger said. A single worker might earn four different pay rates in a single day depending on the specific trade task, the project scope and the jurisdiction.

鈥淕eneric鈥� payroll platforms cannot handle this constant rate variability, contends Berger. For example, payroll admins might receive stacks of paper timesheets or phoned-in hours from various job sites. Then they have to manually key all of that field data into Excel spreadsheets and calculate the pay rates by hand, factoring in union rules, prevailing wage requirements and state-by-state taxes.

They might then have to cross-check the spreadsheet math and manually double-enter the finalized numbers into a generic payroll system, and then again into their accounting software.

Trayd, according to Berger, dramatically reduces the time to perform all those tasks by capturing the time data directly from the field and automatically calculating the correct variable pay rates, union deductions, and multistate taxes.

鈥淯nlike salaried workforces, construction workers can earn multiple different rates in a single day depending on the trade, the project, and whether the work falls under prevailing wage, state or union requirements,鈥� she said. 鈥淭rayd was designed from day one to handle that complexity.鈥�

National expansion

The product seems to be resonating in the industry. Trayd has grown revenue over 600% year over year and moves tens of millions of payroll dollars each week, according to Berger. Several hundred contractors use Trayd weekly. , and are among its customers.

The startup operates on a SaaS model, with pricing tied to the number of workers processed through payroll.

Trayd started in New York and the broader Northeast, where union density and regulatory complexity are highest. It is now expanding nationally. Presently, it has about two dozen employees.

Before Trayd, Berger co-founded , a consumer social platform that is now defunct.

She acknowledges that being female founders in a male-dominated industry has not been easy.

鈥淎s women building in construction 鈥� where we’re outnumbered 9 to 1 鈥� the default assumption is that we’re too far removed or don’t have access to truly understand the problems on the ground. In the early years especially, there’s a ‘prove it twice’ dynamic. Without the benefit of the doubt, we had to earn credibility through repetition 鈥�- every meeting, every deal, every product decision. We’ve had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously,鈥� she told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News. 鈥淏ut that pressure becomes an advantage. You show up more prepared, you listen more closely, and you build conviction faster. Over time, that compounds into a better product and deeper, more trusted customer relationships.鈥�

, general partner聽at White Star Capital, said his firm was first impressed by Trayd鈥檚 founding team, describing Berger and Kessler as 鈥渁 rare combination.鈥�

鈥淎nna鈥檚 background and family ties to the space allow her to understand the unique pain points contractors face from the inside,鈥� he wrote via email. 鈥淐ara brings the technical depth to build mission-critical systems without sacrificing product simplicity.鈥�

Beyond the caliber of the founders, White Star also believes that Trayd stands out because 鈥渋t is truly a better product for its customers.鈥�

鈥淥n a technical level, we were very impressed by how thoughtfully the product has been built,鈥� Lee added. 鈥淲e see that as a real advantage, because by structuring data cleanly at the system level, Trayd is better positioned to scale reliably and to become a strong foundation for AI in the construction industry over time.鈥�

Venture investment in property technology startups has rebounded in recent years after plunging from the pandemic peak. In 2025, startups in the sector pulled in approximately $10.5 billion in seed- through growth-stage financing globally, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 . That鈥檚 up about 17% from $9 billion in 2024, with much of the recent investment going to startups that promise greater ROI through the use of automation or AI.

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 query:

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The round for New York-based Deel comes as funding for HR tech startups overall has seen an uptick this year. Through mid-September, HR software startups globally have raised $1.9 billion in venture funding this year, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 . That鈥檚 just under the $2 billion raised by such startups in all of 2024. U.S.-based human resources software startups have raised a combined $1.2 billion, up from the $1.1 billion raised last year.

Still, this year鈥檚 figures are a far cry from 2021鈥檚 banner figures, when startups in the sector raised $10.5 billion globally, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data.

Deel鈥檚 new round also followsbetween Deel and rival , which itself raised at a $16.8 billion valuation earlier this year, despite the drama.

Investors were apparently more interested in Deel鈥檚 business metrics than the Rippling saga. Deel said it posted $100 million in revenue last month for the first time, and closed out its third consecutive year of profitability. It hit $1 billion in ARR earlier this year and says it now counts more than 37,000 businesses as customers, processing $22 billion in payroll a year.

The company, which has now raised nearly $1.3 billion from investors since its founding in 2019, said it will use the cash infusion for strategic acquisitions, to expand its geographic reach to more than 100 countries by 2029, and to accelerate its automation and AI-powered offerings.

鈥淒eel 鈥� itself a fully remote, global company with employees in over 100 countries 鈥� is uniquely positioned to build products for global expansion,鈥� Ribbit Capital founder said in a statement. 鈥淭he company and its leadership have a limitless opportunity ahead of them.鈥�

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 query:

Related reading:

• Funding To HR Software Startups Rises As M&A Activity Heats Up
• HR Tech Funding Falls To 3-Year Low After Flurry Of VC Interest
• Mergers & Money: An Insane Amount Of Venture Dollars Flooded HR Tech In The Past 2 Months

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Altogether, investors put just over $800 million into seed through growth-stage deals across Central America and South America in Q1, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data. That鈥檚 about 17% higher than year-ago levels, but down about 35% from the prior quarter, a robust period for late-stage dealmaking.

For perspective, we charted out total investment, color-coded by stage, for the past nine quarters below.

Round counts declined sequentially and year over year across stages. We expect the Q1 deal counts to rise somewhat over time, however, as seed rounds in particular are commonly reported weeks or months after they close.

Table of contents

• Early stage and seed
• Late stage
• Overall, a muted quarter and a slow period for exits
• Methodology
• Glossary of funding terms

Early stage and seed

Early stage was the strongest area for funding in Q1, attracting around $435 million. Fintech stood out as the dominant theme for investment, with more than half of all early-stage funding going to companies tied to financial services, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data.

Much of the quarterly total came from a handful of larger rounds. Standouts included:

• , a Mexico City-based startup offering credit cards, picked up $160 million in a March Series A led by at a $1.5 billion valuation.
• , a Santiago-based HR software provider, secured $50 million in a January Series B led by .
• , a Brazil-based developer of business travel and expense management tools, landed $40 million in Series B funding in January led by .
• , a Mexico City-based provider of a corporate expense management platform, locked up $35 million in a March Series B led by .

While early stage was up, seed investment declined in Q1, based on reported totals. We expect final numbers to come in somewhat higher, however, as seed financings often enter the dataset weeks or months after they close.

We did see some larger seed financings in the mix for Q1, including an $8 million round for , a Mexico City-based solar provider, and a $6 million investment in , a Brazilian B2B payment tech startup.

Late stage

The pace of late-stage dealmaking slowed down, after a spike the prior quarter. Just $281 million went to rounds at Series C and beyond in Q1. That鈥檚 above year-ago levels, but roughly a third of the Q4 total.

Nonetheless, we did see a number of good-sized rounds close. Some of the larger funding recipients included:

• , a Buenos Aires-based digital banking startup, closed on $66 million in a Series E led by .
• , a S茫o Paulo-based health plan provider for employers, raised a $22 million extension round in February.
• , a Brazilian digital car rental platform, secured $12.5 million in a February Series D.

Overall, a muted quarter and a slow period for exits

It wasn鈥檛 a particularly active quarter for startup exits, though there were some deals that got done.

On the M&A front, , a Brazil-based app for handling vehicle care and expenses, sold to in a deal reportedly valued at $172 million. Other M&A deals for funded startups included 鈥� purchase of , a Brazilian agricultural software provider, and 鈥檚 acquisition of , a Mexico-based fashion resale marketplace.

As for IPOs, Q1 was a pretty quiet period, with no significant offerings from venture-backed Latin American companies.

Will we see a pickup in dealmaking and exits as the year progresses? Who knows. But at least, given Q1鈥檚 toned-down dealmaking levels, there鈥檚 plenty of room for growth from here.

Methodology

The data contained in this report comes directly from 小蓝视频色情网页版, and is based on reported data. Data reported is as of April 2, 2025.

Note that data lags are most pronounced at the earliest stages of venture activity, with seed funding amounts increasing significantly after the end of a quarter/year.

Please note that all funding values are given in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. 小蓝视频色情网页版 converts foreign currencies to U.S. dollars at the prevailing spot rate from the date funding rounds, acquisitions, IPOs and other financial events are reported. Even if those events were added to 小蓝视频色情网页版 long after the event was announced, foreign currency transactions are converted at the historic spot price.

Glossary of funding terms

Seed and angel consists of seed, pre-seed and angel rounds. 小蓝视频色情网页版 also includes venture rounds of unknown series, equity crowdfunding and convertible notes at $3 million (USD or as-converted USD equivalent) or less.

Early-stage consists of Series A and Series B rounds, as well as other round types. 小蓝视频色情网页版 includes venture rounds of unknown series, corporate venture and other rounds above $3 million, and those less than or equal to $15 million.

Late-stage consists of Series C, Series D, Series E and later-lettered venture rounds following the 鈥淪eries [Letter]鈥� naming convention. Also included are venture rounds of unknown series, corporate venture and other rounds above $15 million. Corporate rounds are only included if a company has raised an equity funding at seed through a venture series funding round.

Technology growth is a private-equity round raised by a company that has previously raised a 鈥渧enture鈥� round. (So basically, any round from the previously defined stages.)

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• Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal聽
• North America Startup Investment Spiked In Q1 Due To OpenAI, But Seed And Early Stage Fell
• Asia Sags To Lows Not Seen Since 2014

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Between large-scale industry layoffs and a growing pool of applicants for positions that are available, jobseekers find themselves in an increasingly competitive landscape. Employers, not so much.

That鈥檚 reflected in workplace perks. These days, employers are less prone to woo prospective hires with hefty sign-on bonuses, approve remote work when they鈥檇 prefer onsite, or offer elaborate workplace perks like gourmet meals or on-site masseuse visits.

Instead, startup employers in particular have been retooling benefits and perks with an eye to maintaining or reducing costs, all while sustaining workplace morale.

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 very cost-conscious,鈥� said , CEO and co-founder of , a startup that works with companies to set up perks and benefits plans. In recent quarters, she said, more companies have been adding benefits in areas such as fertility, dependent care and individually selected perks.

However, employers are also cutting benefits that they see as underutilized. This might include something like a universal gym membership that only some employees use. In the era of hybrid work, they鈥檝e also pared down spending for on-site events and opted for more frugal snacks and meal offerings.

Not so much competition

The current environment is a shift from the more-is-better mantra when startup funding was hitting record highs a few years ago.

Back then, startups vyed for talent in a tight labor market by offering higher salaries, flexible schedules, remote work, extensive paid time off, and subsidies for things like gym memberships and dependent care. Besides competing with each other, startups also had to contend with big tech companies like and , known for their chic campuses and lavish perks.

Today, the risk of employees jumping ship for a bigger paycheck and more perks is lower. For one, it typically takes more time and effort to land a new job than was the case a few years ago.

Employment by tech sector companies has also been , according to analysis from IT certifications provider .

That said, perks and benefits aren鈥檛 only designed to lure new hires. Companies also want to keep existing employees engaged, avoid burnout and maintain high job satisfaction. At maturing startups in particular, HR departments have to balance the needs of workers at different stages in their lives. Core constituencies might include recent graduates seeking mentoring and social connections as well as older peers starting families and navigating work-life balance.

Flexible perks are in

One way startups are catering to employees while keeping costs in check is by offering a choice of perks. Lifestyle spending accounts, for instance, allow employees to allocate a given sum across several options such as gym memberships, work-from-home expenses, and even potentially pet care.

And while parental leave has long been a standard benefit, we鈥檙e seeing an uptick in fertility benefits tailored to employees鈥� particular needs, with coverage potentially contributing to IVF, fertility consultations and adoption costs.

Another growth area is perks around commuting. While remote or hybrid work isn鈥檛 going away, we鈥檙e also not returning to the peak work-from-home pandemic days. As employers seek to bring more workers back on-site, they鈥檙e adding benefits aimed at reducing the cost of coming into the office, Chen said.

Where talent is in short supply, benefits follow

Of course, there are still ultra well-funded startups offering very generous salaries and benefits packages to those with in-demand skills. This seems to be especially the case in the AI space.

A perusal of career sites at some of the most highly valued U.S. unicorns gives a sense of what鈥檚 being offered.

鈥檚 perks include unlimited, flexible time off, daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and coaching sessions, along with robust medical, family leave and travel benefits. At , 100% of medical, dental and vision insurance are covered, with benefits extending to childcare support and mental wellness.

A number of unicorns, including CoreWeave and , offer fertility benefits through another onetime startup, , which is now part of health and social services software provider . Other startups offering perks and benefits popular with the unicorn crowd include , provider of a mental wellness platform, and , which helps families find child care.

A cyclical thing

Much like economic cycles, the level of perks employers offer tends to rise and retreat. Currently, with the startup job market down from its peak-era frenzy, we appear to be in one of the periods of retreat.

That said, past history teaches us that given enough time, things will heat up again. Expect ever-more-enticing perks and benefits packages to follow.

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• The 小蓝视频色情网页版 Tech Layoffs Tracker
• 5 Trends In Tech And Startups We鈥檙e Watching In 2025, From An M&A Rebound To A Defense Tech Boom

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out the biggest funding rounds of last week here.

While the year started out hot for large megaround deals, it has slowed considerably. Just three startups raised nine-figure rounds this week and you barely needed a round of $60 million to make this list.

1. , $425M, energy: Fusion startup Helion Energy locked up a $425 million Series F 鈥� valuing the company at $5.4 billion 鈥� as the company looks to commercialize its fusion technology. The round included participation from investors including , 2 and . The Everett, Washington-based startup has now raised more than $1 billion. In November 2021, Helion closed a $500 million Series E. The new round further illustrates investors鈥� appetite for new energy sources as power needs increase due to AI and other advances. In 2023, Helion announced a power purchase agreement with to deliver electricity from its fusion plant starting in 2028, and a customer agreement with to develop a power plant in the 2030s. Helion has just started operating its seventh generation prototype, Polaris, which is expected to demonstrate the first electricity produced from fusion. The company鈥檚 new round is the second-largest in the fusion sector since the start of last year, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data. Last October, , a startup attempting to create a nuclear fusion-based energy source, raised more than $900 million in a Series A led by .

2. , $180M, artificial intelligence: Voice AI startup ElevenLabs raised a $180 million round led by and at a $3.3 billion valuation. The raise comes about a year after the startup locked up an $80 million Series B at a unicorn valuation. The Brooklyn-based company allows creators, enterprises and others to use AI software to replicate voices in dozens of languages. Founded in 2022, ElevenLabs has raised $281 million, .

3. , $123M, insurance: The most expensive purchase most people will ever make is their home, so it matters who insures it. Openly provides independent insurance agents with a platform that offers coverage to homeowners and streamlines processes, improves risk underwriting and helps with claims. The Boston-based insurtech startup raised $123 million in equity financing led by this week, and another $70 million in debt. In 2023, the company raised a $100 million Series D, also led by Eden Global Partners. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $431 million, .

4. , $97M, biotech: Boston-based Atalanta Therapeutics, a biotechnology using RNA interference for the treatment of neurological diseases, completed a $97 million Series B co-led by and . The company will use the cash to support clinical trials of its experimental RNAi therapies for KCNT1-related epilepsy and Huntington’s disease. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $207 million, .

5. (tied) , $75M, human resources: San Francisco-based recruiting startup Mercor raised a $75 million round led by 1聽that values the company at a $2 billion valuation, per a report. The company started the process in December and the final total could still increase. Founded in 2023, the company has raised nearly $109 million, .

5. (tied) , $75M, power grid: Woburn, Massachusetts-based Veir, a developer of superconducting platforms for AI-driven data centers and utilities, closed a $75 million Series B led by . Founded in 2019, the company has raised nearly $112 million, .

7. , $70M, defense: Castelion, a defense manufacturer developing long-range hypersonic strike weapons, raised a $100 million Series A in a mix of debt and equity. The El Segundo, California-based startup creates what it calls 鈥渁ffordable, mass-produced hypersonic long-range strike weapons鈥� that serve as a 鈥渘on-nuclear deterrent.鈥� The Series A 鈥� which includes $30 million in venture debt from 鈥� was led by . Defense tech has garnered major headlines in the past several months after massive raises by the likes of and artificial intelligence defense software developer . Just late last year, defense and critical infrastructure tech startup raised $145 million in a Series B. Already this year, raised a $60 million Series C and locked up a $50 million Series B.

8. (tied) , $65M, biotech: South San Francisco-based Helicore Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical startup focused on the treatment of obesity and related conditions, emerged from stealth mode with $65 million in a Series A co-led by and .

8. (tied) , $65M, electronics: Durham, North Carolina-based Smart Wires, a company that develops solutions for a more reliable and affordable power grid, raised $65 million in a new investment that included participation from . Founded in 2010, the company has raised $248 million, .

10. , $60M, health care: San Francisco-based Rad AI, an artificial intelligence-enhanced radiology firm, locked up a $60 million round led by that values the company at $525 million. Founded in 2018, Rad AI has raised more than $140 million, per the company.

Big global deals

The largest deal outside the U.S. came from the Iberian Peninsula.

• Spain-based , an all-in-one platform for managing business travel, raised a $200 million Series E that values the company at $2.7 billion.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 小蓝视频色情网页版 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Jan. 25 to Jan. 31. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration:

An electric vehicle charging startup may have raised the biggest round, but the real winners of the week were biotech and drug discovery companies. The list this week is dominated by biotech and health care startups as investors continue to see the value in new and innovative treatments.

1. , $1B, electric vehicle: A San Francisco-based charging startup tops the list this week with a huge Series A of more than $1 billion. Launched out of stealth in May 2021, TeraWatt Infrastructure has built out a network of charging stations for the operation of light- to heavy-duty fleets. The company acquires property in 鈥渟trategically relevant鈥� locations and helps customers operate EV fleets without the need to own and operate their own infrastructure. The new funding comes from funds managed by and existing investors and , and will be used for further development and expansion, including the buildout of a growing portfolio of charging centers. The round is the largest raised by a VC-backed startup in the electric vehicle segment this year, according to 小蓝视频色情网页版 data. The company says it had previously raised a $100 million seed round.

2. , $310M, agtech: Startups that solve some of the farming and food issues we are now facing due to drought, environment and changing habits have been quite popular with investors. New York-based Gotham Greens is the latest to raise big鈥�securing a $310 million Series E led by the Impact Fund and . The indoor farming startup sells leafy greens grown in hydroponics-equipped greenhouses. The company says using hydroponics in their greenhouses allows them to use 97% less land when compared to farming. Gotham Green鈥檚 goal is to have 13 locations across nine states by 2023. So far, the company is building new greenhouses in Texas, Colorado and Georgia, in addition to existing greenhouses in Chicago and Providence. Launched in 2009, the company has raised $435 million to date, per 小蓝视频色情网页版.

3. , $300M, biopharma: ACELYRIN is the first biopharma/biotech company on our list this week, but it won鈥檛 be the last by any means. The Los Angeles-based startup raised a $300 million Series C led by . ACELYRIN has now raised $550 million in less than 12 months. The company is developing treatment for inflammatory diseases and is entering late-stage trials. Founded in 2020, the biotech startup has raised $558 million to date, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data.

4. , $205M, security: Although we often focus on cybersecurity, there is still a real need for security in the physical world. That is something technology can help with, too. San Mateo, California-based Verkada is doing just that and closed a large $205 million Series D led by that values the company at $3.2 billion. The company offers a plethora of products that include video security cameras, door-based access control, environmental sensors and more. Founded in 2016, Verkada says it has raised more than $360 million.

5. , $200M, human resources: Chicago-based Atlas raised a $200 million Series B funding led by San Francisco-based growth investor . Atlas helps companies build a presence in new countries by dealing with compliance and payroll as the employer of record. 鈥淎tlas is enabling companies to seize the opportunity to be competitive, flexible, and borderless鈥� said , its founder and CEO.

6. , $160M, biotech: Another biotech and another big round. San Diego-based RayzeBio locked up a $160 million Series D financing co-led by , and . The company is developing targeted radiopharmaceuticals to use against tumors and said it has 鈥渟everal novel drug candidates for clinical evaluation in the near future.鈥� RayzeBio says it has now raised $418 million since starting operations in August 2020.

7. , $125M, biotech: Cambridge, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage medicine developer Nimbus Therapeutics closed a $125 million private financing, which included participation from new investors and , among others. Founded in 2009, the company has raised $427 million, according to 小蓝视频色情网页版 data.

8. , $102M, biotech: San Diego-based cell-engineering startup Capstan Therapeutics closed a $102 million Series A led by . Founded last year, the firm has raised $165 million, according to the company.

9. , $100M, biotech: San Carlos, California-based biomedical platform Galvanize Therapeutics raised a $100 million Series B financing led by Founded just this year, the startup has now raised a total of $148.5 million in funding, according to 小蓝视频色情网页版 data.

10., $90M, biotech: Columbus, Ohio-based gene therapy-focused biotech company Forge Biologics raised a $90 million Series C co-led by and . Founded in 2020, the startup has raised $330 million, per the company.

Big global deals

The top 10 rounds announced this week all came from U.S.-based startups鈥攁 rarity. The largest deal outside the U.S. was:

• India-based , which offers shared electric two-wheelers to reduce traffic congestion, closed a Series B worth approximately $82 million.

Methodology

We tracked the largest rounds in the 小蓝视频色情网页版 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Sept. 10 to 16. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration:

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Now, an Austin-based talent management SaaS (software-as-a-subscription) startup focused on helping companies and HR managers not only retain employees, but better engage with and coach them, has raised $4 million to grow its business.

founded what is now in 2010. For the first few years, the company operated as a career coaching consulting business. Human resource professionals ended up being the primary client and many asked about applying the methodology internally to their own organizations via automation of the technology. So in December 2013, Ginac pivoted TalentGuard from a consulting company to a software one focused on career coaching. She landed her first beta customer in April 2014 and says revenue has grown 200 percent year-over-year since.

Along the way, Ginac said, the company was essentially bootstrapped — only raising a total of $3.5 million from angel investors over the course of nine years.

Austin-based led its latest round, which also included participation from a number of individuals including former聽Spredfast聽CEO (who was also the former CEO of , which was ultimately acquired by IBM); and Horizon Bank Chairman and former Dell CFO James M. Schneider.

The pair join , founding partner at LiveOak Venture Partners, in joining TalentGuard鈥檚 board. In April, LiveOak closed on a $105 million fund to invest in Texas-based startups.

Currently, TalentGuard has 27 employees in the United States and Mexico and more than 80 customers ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Examples include BlueCross and BlueShield of Tennessee, Allstate and Zurich Insurance.

鈥淭ypically, our customers are in high turnover industries such as retail, financial services or hospitality,鈥� Ginac told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News. 鈥淭hose sectors in particular seem to have a hard time recruiting and keeping talent. And usually the number one reason is a lack of career development.鈥�

TalentGuard plans to use its new capital for attracting more customers and expanding its footprint both in the U.S. and globally. It has an office in Mexico City and plans to open another location in Ireland in Q4 of this year. It also plans to hire another 25 employees by year鈥檚 end, with a particular focus on sales and marketing staff.

鈥淲e have clients in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Germany, Thailand and Egypt, for example,鈥� Ginac said. 鈥淲e want to be closer to our customers.鈥�

The company also plans to use the money to add more artificial intelligence and machine learning bots into its software 鈥渢o make it smarter,鈥� Ginac said, especially in the area of predictive people development. What does that mean?

鈥淲e want to be able to take lots of information and predict a targeted and personalized skill development plan,鈥� she explained.鈥漈he goal is to give employees a way to develop a curated learning development plan that they can execute on and thus help increase the chance of them staying on longer at a company.鈥� In addition, Ginac added, TalentGuard aims to “make it easy to聽develop and evaluate skills, connect with mentors, and have more meaningful conversations with management.”

LiveOak鈥檚 Srinivasan told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News his firm 鈥渉ave been blown away鈥� by TalentGuard鈥檚 鈥渋ncredible聽grit and聽tenacity聽to聽create聽a聽comprehensive talent management platform鈥� with so little external money.

He also said that LiveOak views the company as an 鈥渆arly pioneer鈥� in its space.

鈥淲e like their clever use of AI and believe in general, the HR tech management space is incredibly hot,鈥� Srinivasan added. 鈥淎nd in TalentGuard, we see a platform that can drive strong employee engagement and retention.鈥�

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