The world of education technology is taking leaps and bounds with the introduction of innovative products and services. EmployementHero, a nine-year-old job-search platform, has become Australia’s latest unicorn with its $167 million (A$263 million) Series F funding round. The global growth fund TCV (Technology Crossover Ventures), which has previously invested in companies like Airbnb, ByteDance, Electronic Arts, Expedia, GoDaddy, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Meta, led the funding round. It was backed by existing investors such as Insight Partners, AirTree, Seek, and OneVentures, which brought the company’s valuation close to about $1.2 billion (A$2.13 billion).
Headquartered in Sydney, the startup, which operates in Singapore and Malaysia, is utilizing the capital to expand into significant international markets. Founded in 2014 by Ben Thompson and Dave Tong, EmployementHero is an HR software that incorporates operations such as payroll, employee benefits and retirement benefits, employment contracts, and accounting into one platform. It is currently supporting over 300,000 SMEs and over two million employees.
EmploymentHero has launched a super-app called ‘Swag’ for employees, which is a real-time control center that allows them to manage their work and financial lives efficiently and intelligently. The app provides a range of benefits that help save members thousands of dollars each year. Ben Thompson, Founder & CEO of EmployementHero, said: “While we were not actively seeking funding, our growth story has meant that we have received significant inbound investors’ interest has given us incredible confidence in our vision, and allowed us to opportunistically boost our balance sheet, even at a time when the funding environment has been tight.”
Muz Ashraf, Partner, TCV, commented: “We are thrilled to support EmployementHero on the journey to make employment work better for employers and employees globally. We have been deeply impressed by their ingenuity, grit, and velocity in solving one of the fundamental pain points facing small to medium-sized businesses.”
In addition to the investment, EmployementHero also announced the launch of its Hero Foundation, which aims to support employment for one million people from underserved communities over the next decade. The company also hopes to help businesses pay their employees in real-time, reducing pressure on consumer credit.
The introduction of EmployementHero is a welcome development for teachers and educators. It provides them with a powerful platform to manage their work and financial lives in a more efficient and intelligent manner. With this platform, educators can gain access to innovative tools that make the people management process easier and meaningful.
