Australian HR firm Culture Amp banks $82m in Sequoia China-led round

Australian employee analytics platform Culture Amp has secured US$82 million in a series E round led by new investor Sequoia Capital China, bringing its total funding to over US$158 million. The round also sees the company’s valuation reach US$700 million, according to a statement.

Global Founders Capital and TDM Growth Partners also participated in the round, alongside existing investors Sapphire Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Index Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Hostplus, Skip Capital, and Grok Ventures.

Photo credit: Culture Amp

Founded in 2011, Culture Amp helps companies improve employee engagement, retention, and performance through its platform that’s powered by behavioral science and data analytics.

It plans to use the new funds for product development and to accelerate its global expansion, with a focus on regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It currently operates in Melbourne, San Francisco, New York, and London.

“This round of funding will help us to continue to deliver on our mission of building a better world of work by getting the Culture Amp platform into the hands of more people and more leaders, who believe that culture is the biggest lever that you have to be successful,” said Culture Amp CEO and co-founder Didier Elzinga.

Elzinga also said that the company will continue to invest in building diverse communities worldwide. Culture Amp currently has an active community of nearly 100,000 people, representing 147 countries, according to a statement. Its platform serves more than 2,500 global customers, including Airbnb, McDonald’s, Salesforce, and Slack.

Culture Amp, which acquired performance management firm Zugata earlier this year, also claims to have amassed collective intelligence from more than 3 million employee surveys to date.

Recently, another Australian HR tech startup Employment Hero received funding of US$15 million via a series C round led by jobs marketplace Seek. According to company founder and CEO Ben Thompson, the fundraise was a step in Employment Hero’s plan to test international markets.