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HR tech unicorn Darwinbox has received a follow-on investment from Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. The transaction, particulars of which were not disclosed, consisted exclusively of secondary share sale. The details of the selling investor were not disclosed as well. TVG first backed the HR tech unicorn in August 2025, leading its $40 Mn funding round. The initial investment was also a mix of primary and secondary funding and was aimed at supporting Darwinbox’s international expansion, particularly in North America, as well as investments in AI capabilities. Founded in 2015 by Jayant Paleti, Chaitanya Peddi and Rohit Chennamaneni, Darwinbox provides a cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platform covering functions such as core HR, payroll, recruitment, performance management and employee engagement. Its platform is currently being used by more than 1,400 organisations with over 4.5 Mn employees globally, with the US, India, Middle East and Southeast Asia among its key markets. Darwinbox said it has grown at a 70% CAGR over the past five years. The startup's clientele includes the likes of Bharti AXA, JSW, Adani Wilmer, L&T, Licious, PhysicsWallah, among others. The startup has also been pushing deeper into AI with the launch of Darwinbox Cortex, an AI-native HCM platform unveiled in August this year. Unlike conventional HCM platforms that layer AI capabilities onto existing systems, Cortex is designed to embed intelligence, context and execution into the core platform. Darwinbox said Cortex is being developed with technology partners including Microsoft, Slack and Glean, with pilot customers including Fortune 1000 companies Visteon and Transcarent. “Enterprise software is undergoing a generational shift towards AI-native platforms. With Cortex, we moved early and are leading that shift in HCM, with several industry-first innovations including the first Context Graph in the category. Our focus now is to work closely with our customers, drive real adoption and value, and scale AI usage across the enterprise,” Darwinbox’s co-CEO Jayant Paleti said. Excluding TVG’s most recent investment, Darwinbox has raised a total funding of about $300 Mn. The startup became a unicorn in 2022 after raising a $72 Mn Series D led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). Its investor base also includes Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed, Microsoft, and Salesforce Ventures. Darwinbox is one of several Indian tech startups backed by TVG. The fund made its first India investment through logistics unicorn Xpressbees, putting $80 Mn into the company in 2023. It has since invested in SaaS startup Perfios, Mintifi and Neysa, among others.
document fetched 2026-09-16 02:57 · canonical https://inc42.com/buzz/teachers-venture-growth-doubles-down-on-darwinbox-with-fresh-investment