HRTech Gupy Raises $93 Million Led by SoftBank and Riverwood

As Gupy raises $93 million in funding that represents the largest round raised by an HR technology platform in Latin America, the company will use the funds to further strengthen Gupy’s leadership in the region

Gupy, Brazil-based HRTech, raises over $93 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Latin America and Riverwood, with the participation of Endeavor Catalyst and current investors Oria Capital and MAYA Capital.

The deal marks the largest investment raised by an HR technology platform in Latin America and a record-breaking amount for a Brazilian startup founded by women.

The round comes just over a year after the last investment received in 2020, and three months after its first M&A – the acquisition of Niduu, a corporate learning startup.

The announcement represents another step in the consolidation of the company as a leader in the HR technology segment in Brazil. With this new investment, Gupy intends to expand its portfolio surpassing its current mark of 1,500 clients and 22.5 million users.

The company was founded to provide a fully digital recruitment experience. Through its proprietary AI, it enables HR managers to easily recruit with a faster, more assertive and diverse hiring process. In 2020 it advanced its portfolio to offer an onboarding module where companies can seamlessly transition candidates into new hires.

According to Mariana Dias, CEO and co-founder of Gupy, “With the pandemic, we saw a great trend among companies in the search for increasing both the talent density and the upskilling and reskilling of their employees, and therefore, with the acquisition of Niduu in 2021, we took another step forward in the HR journey and started offering a learning platform for employees.”

She adds that “with this new investment we will continue our mission to promote employability in Brazil, increasing our commitment to superior technology that both empowers company leaders with innovative solutions to leverage their teams; and also supports candidates and employees to grow in their careers.”

For Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, co-founder and managing partner of Riverwood Capital, companies from all sectors in Latin America are realizing that human capital and talent are central to their long-term success and sustainability. And in this new context, they are looking for technologies that can simplify processes and improve recruiting, hiring, and talent development. “We are seeing incredible growth in the adoption of technology within HR processes, and Gupy has a robust offering with an intuitive platform that is widely perceived as the best in the Brazilian market.

Paulo Passoni, managing director of SoftBank Latin America Fund, HR leaders are increasingly preparing their companies for the future by using technology to recruit, engage and develop talent.

Founded in 2015 by Mariana Dias, Bruna Guimarães, Guilherme Dias and Robson Ventura, Gupy, a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence applied to the recruitment process, offers a comprehensive solution for managing the entire recruiting, onboarding and training cycle.

The startup serves more than 1,500 companies from a variety of sectors, such as Ambev and Renner, Banco Itaú, Vivo and Banco Santander, and is also present in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru. In 2021, 480,000 hirings were done through the platform, which boasts an assertiveness rate of 70%.

The Esquires and the Firms behind the Deal

Bronstein Zilberberg Chueiri Potenza Advogados  acted as Brazilian legal counsel to TerraMagna.

Partners Guilherme Potenza (left) and  Eduardo Zilberberg  (right) led the Bronstein Zilberberg’s transaction team with the contribution of corporate associate Paula Bobrow

The Top Ranked Chambers Brazil 2022 Bronstein Zilberberg Chueiri Potenza Advogados is a full service law firm based in São Paulo, and it is highly recognized as one of the leading top-tier M&A Venture Capital law firms in Brazil.

Other Firms Behind the Deal

Morrison Foerster acted as U.S. counsel to the investors. The top 10 on the American Lawyer rankings, the firm is has its headquarters in San Francisco servicing its clients from 15 offices in the U.S and around the world.