HR tech startup raises $3 million in third round

Betterplace plans to expand its solutions into skilling, compliance and fintech services.

Betterplace, an HR technology player in the space of blue collar workforce, has received the third round of funding by 3one4 Capital. This round of funding also saw the participation of Venture Highway and Unitus Ventures.

In the first round, it received $ 1 million (Rs 6.8 crore) from Laitesh Katragadda, a Google India executive in 2015. It raised another $1 million (Rs 6.8 crore) in 2016 from Unitus Seed Fund. In the third round it has raised another $ 3 million taking the total funds to $5 million (Rs 34 crore).

With the fresh round of funding, BetterPlace plans to expand its solutions into skilling, compliance and fintech services, in order to consolidate its position as a single platform for the semi-formal workforce in the country.

BetterPlace claims to have helped its clients hire over 1.5 million people with the right set of skills and credentials, while providing over 1.2 million people with credit possibilities, which they claim add over 8,000 new individuals daily. It caters to clients, such as Flipkart, Ola, Swiggy, Accenture, TCS and BigBasket.

“We are focused on addressing the $12 billion blue-collar ecosystem in the country. A significant part of the funds will be utilised to strengthen the existing ecosystem using frictionless solutions powered by AI and machine learning” says Pravin Agarwala, cofounder and CEO of BetterPlace.

Nearly 450 million Indians are working in the informal economy as security guards, drivers, plumbers, electricians, mechanics; in housekeeping, as domestic workers, construction workers and in similar job roles. They are aspiring to move to formal jobs, but are unable to do so due to the lack of data and the trust deficit that comes with the demographics. Betterplace comes as a ready solution in this space of formalising blue-collar jobs.

“We are bullish about the growing informal economy in India, with the need to impact crores of people. The best way for social transformation is when people at the bottom of the pyramid can move up to the formal economy. BetterPlace has made tremendous progress since our last round, and we want to continue to be part of this success story,” said Will Poole, co-founder and MP at Unitus Ventures.

Pravin Agarwala and Saurabh Tandon founded BetterPlace in 2015. The Bengaluru-based company, which caters to B2B and B2C demographics, reported an arnnual run rate (ARR) of $4 million, with a monthly growth of 13–15 per cent.