Salesforce’s 1st India bet is a Hyderabad startup

BENGALURU: Salesforce has made its first investment in India. Its venture arm, Salesforce Ventures, which has backed firms like Zoom, has led a $15 million financing in HR-tech startup Darwinbox.
The five-year-old startup helps organisations manage digitally their human resources needs, including hiring, on-boarding, touchless attendance, and employee management. The company has seen a three times jump in revenue in the last 12-15 months, Darwinbox co-founder Chaitanya Peddi said.The growth was aided by the pandemic induced demand for digital solutions.
Salesforce’s backing will help the Hyderabad-based firm to expand in new markets. It will also tap into the expertise of the US cloud solutions major for building new products. Peddi will also work with Salesforce India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya to build partnerships and address market opportunities.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, and 3one4 Capital have also participated in this round. The company has now raised a total of $35 million.
“What would have taken three years, has taken three months (cloud adoption). Last quarter was our highest (by revenue and clients). We have added 300 clients in the last one year to take the total to 500,” Peddi said. In India, it works with a range of companies including Grofers, Myntra, Mahindra Group, TVS Group and Adani Group. It started expanding into South East Asia last year. “We will focus on emerging markets - Middle East, Nigeria,” Peddi said.
“Cloud adoption in Asia is growing at a monumental pace and the pandemic has only further amplified the importance of going digital,” said Alex Kayyal, partner and head of international, Salesforce Ventures.