Darwinbox is the first Hyderabad based startup to become a unicorn.

A startup  Hyderabad that specializes in HR management software Hyderabad-based Darwinbox, is the latest unicorn to emerge in India. This is the fourth startup in India to achieve the status this 2022. Other players include Analytics SaaS (software as a service) provider Fractal and Edtech startup LEAD.

A recent fundraising round led by TCV (Technology Crossover Ventures) helped the company raise $72 million . Investors included Endiya Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, 3one4 Capital, JGDEV, and SCB 10X. TCV invests in global brands like Airbnb and Netflix having recently backed Indian startups like Dream11 and Razorpay.

Due to  lack of infrastructure, many startups in Hyderabad have moved their operations overseas or to cities like Bengaluru. Darwin is the first company with its headquarters in Hyderabad to become a unicorn.

The company was founded six years ago by Jayant Paleti, Chaitanya Peddi, and Rohit Chennamaneni. It helps organizations manage their human resources in terms of hiring, onboarding touchless attendance, and digital employment management.

Its list of clients includes Adani, Vedanta, JSW, MakeMyTrip, Swiggy besides newer companies such as Cars24, Vedantu and CRED.

More than 30 per cent of its revenue comes from Southeast Asian countries, while 6 per cent comes from the Middle East. As the company has grown from 500 to 650 customers, the new 150 customers have generated the same amount of revenue as the previous 500 customers. Covid proved beneficial to Darwinbox, as it has to many other tech companies.

Currently, over 700 employees are working for the company in 13 offices across India, South-East Asia and the Middle East. It is planning to double down on its global expansion. “The company intends to use the funding in hiring senior-level talent to catapult it to the next stage of growth as well as in R&D to fine-tune its products to cater to new geographies such as the US as well as in building its brand,” said Chaitanya Peddi Darwinbox co-founder and product head.

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