SmartHR, a Tokyo-based Japanese HR automation service provider, has secured a $96-million strategic minority investment from global growth equity firm General Atlantic, according to an announcement.
General Atlantic bought shares from existing backer Coral Capital in its first growth deal in Japan. Coral Capital will remain a committed minority shareholder, per the announcement.
The size of General Atlantic’s stake or SmartHR’s valuation was not disclosed.
General Atlantic and Coral Capital plan to work with SmartHR’s management to accelerate growth through new product launches, strategic partnerships, selective mergers and acquisitions, and a sharper go-to-market strategy focused on boosting customer satisfaction and supporting the digitalisation of Japan’s HR systems.
“With the Japanese market still early in its adoption of cloud software solutions, we believe SmartHR has a significant opportunity to capture the long-term trend towards digitisation,” said Martin Escobari, co-president and head of Global Growth Equity at General Atlantic.
SmartHR, founded in 2013, provides tech-enabled human resources management solutions focused on employee management and administration, growth, talent management, and employee productivity. Its clients include large enterprises and SMEs.
The company also runs SmartHR Plus, an app store-style service that links its platform with external specialised software, allowing clients to tailor integrations and consolidate HR data in a single, secure system.
In July last year, the company secured $140 million in its Series E funding round, which was co-anchored by private equity giant KKR; and Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
The company raised about $143 million in its Series D funding round in 2021, led by US-based Light Street Capital. The round was also backed by Sequoia Heritage, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Arena Holdings, Grayhound Capital, and Whale Rock Capital Management.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome General Atlantic as our new strategic partner,” Masato Serizawa, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of SmartHR, said in the statement.
Backed by the US firm’s experience in scaling HR software businesses, SmartHR aims to accelerate its next stage of growth, boost corporate productivity, and help create more inclusive workplaces, Serizawa added.
