HRtech platform Keka raises $57M in Series A round

Hyderabad-based HRtech leader Keka has secured Series A funding of $57 million from WestBridge Capital.

Founded by Vijay Yalamanchilli in 2015, Keka was launched with a mission to create a good employee experience. It built a highly innovative product to suit the practical requirements of the industry, all without securing any funding.

Keka means ‘awesome’ in Telugu, something the company seeks to symbolise when it comes to the empowerment of the HR function and employee experience.

By the end of 2021, the solution was used by more than 5,500 companies.

Expressing his confidence in the company, Rishit Desai, Principal at WestBridge Capital, said, “In a short period of time, Keka has emerged as India’s most trusted and innovative HR tech platform. It is disrupting the industry through its world-class product and highly reliable customer support. We are aligned with their vision to build the best mid-market-focused global HRtech platform that will allow companies around the world to modernise their HR processes. We are very excited about Keka’s potential and look forward to a long partnership with the company”

Vijay and his team now want to augment the product, enhance their offerings, and bolster customer support.

“We want to build a world-class product here in India that will cater to the global market. As we advance, R&D will be our primary area of focus as we expand our engineering, product, and customer success teams,” Vijay said.

The company started as a squad of five and has grown to a 550-plus team.

The software helps HR teams spend less time on mundane tasks and focus more on the vital assets of any organisation: the people.

Keka streamlines and automates recruiting, payroll, attendance, leave, performance management, and more. It has reach of over 6,500 customers across various sectors, including IT services, taxation, pharmaceuticals, professional service organisations, manufacturing, accounting, fintech, and others. It currently runs the payroll of more than 1.5 million employees monthly.