Hyderabad HR-tech unicorn Darwinbox has raised funding of $40 million (approximately ₹350 crore) led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage and growth equity arm of Canada-based Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). The new funding is a repeated strong vote of confidence in Darwinbox’s vision and market standing.
The funding follows closely on the heels of a gigantic $140 million March 2025 round led by international Giants KKR and Partners Group, with Gravity Holdings also participating. In all, HR-tech startup has so far raised about $280 million. The current round also saw primary and secondary share deals—allowing early backers like Peak XV Partners to partially exit, reportedly making ten times their investment.
Financing Global Growth, Particularly in North America
Fresh funds are intended to be used in two primary areas of growth: speeding up global expansion—especially in the United States and North America—and ramping up its AI innovation. Since going live in the region in about 2022, Darwinbox claims to have registered three-fold year-over-year growth there.
TVG India Director Darius Vakil applauded Darwinbox’s extremely customer-focused, AI-driven full-stack HCM (Human Capital Management) platform, citing TVG’s global reach as a major backup mechanism for further growth. Co-founder Jayant Paleti reiterated that Darwinbox’s goal is to “build the next-gen HCM company, global by design and AI-first at the core.”
Fast Growing and AI-Powered
Darwinbox now enables HR functions—from recruitment to employee engagement insights—for over 1,000 organizations, with a reach of over 4 million employees in 130+ countries. Its client list boasts industry leaders like Starbucks, Nivea, Cigna, WeWork, Crisil, Adidas, and Zara.
On the innovation side, it is breaking new ground with agentic AI capabilities and is the pioneer HCM platform to enable the Model Context Protocol (MCP)—allowing AI agents to safely engage with its systems.
Strong Financial Momentum
In FY24, Revenue jumped 58% year-on-year to about ₹392 crore. Most of this came from international markets, which had an 87% year-on-year growth and accounted for more than half of its new Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).
Though it has seen explosive growth, the firm is still net loss-making, with TheKredible having registered a net loss of nearly ₹191.82 crore for FY24. Yet, the management is committed to scaling up, with an over 50% revenue growth outlook for FY25, supported by aggressive R&D spending and international market expansion.
Employee-First Culture and ESOP Buyback
Earlier, in June, it had also made a $10 million ESOP buyback announcement, indicating its commitment to rewarding long-term team members.
Why This Matters
Stronger valuation and confidence: The TVG investment reconfirms Darwinbox’s status as a high-momentum SaaS unicorn destined for global leadership.
AI as a core driver: Developments such as MCP-based secure AI agents demonstrate its readiness to revolutionize enterprise HR.
Rapid global expansion: With triple-digit growth in North America, Darwinbox is growing way beyond its India origins.
Balanced growth strategy: Together with revenue acceleration, employee-friendly policies indicate a balanced approach.
Darwinbox’s recent $40 million funding round is not simply another milestone for funding—it’s an indication that its AI-powered, globally scalable HR platform is well on its way to redefining the future of enterprise people management.
