Simpplr raises $70M in funding to grow its AI-powered employee experience platform

About 8 years ago, entrepreneur Dhiraj Sharma was approached by HR tech company Workday to create an intranet app to enhance the employee onboarding experience. This opportunity came at a perfect time for Sharma, as his interests in purpose and meaningful work were starting to take shape. Rather than creating a one-time solution, Sharma made a deal with Workday to create Simpplr instead of developing a single customized intranet.

Fast forward to today, Simpplr is now the leading AI-powered employee experience platform used by more than 700 brands to deliver personalized experiences that inspire and engage their employees. Simpplr offers an internal social network for businesses, allowing employees to create profiles, share content, follow other users, and participate in polls or surveys through a personalized intranet. Managers have the ability to create an employee directory and social workspaces that can be tailored to different teams and departments.

To further grow its platform, Simpplr announced today it has closed $70 million in  Series D funding led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from existing investor Norwest Venture Partners. Additional investors include Tola Capital and Salesforce Ventures. The latest round brings the company’s total funding to over $131 million to date.

Simpplr will use the funding proceeds to fuel future growth and support the continued adoption of new AI capabilities and product development including the innovation of its employee experience (EX) platform.

As part of this deal, Simpplr also announced that Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures will join its Board of Directors upon the closure of this funding round.

Simpplr’s continued rapid growth comes as companies recognize the complexity of today’s work-life requires a radically different way to connect, engage and support every employee, anywhere. Employee experience has proven to be a crucial driver of successful businesses. Simpplr is used by more than one million people worldwide, delivering increased engagement and measurable productivity gains for companies in NA, EMEA, and APAC.

“This is a watershed moment for companies everywhere on the importance of employee experience powered by AI and its impact on business performance,” said Dhiraj Sharma, Founder & CEO. “From measuring employee engagement in real-time to enabling effective communication and building community and connection, Simpplr’s customers continue to realize how important EX is to retention, productivity, and talent acquisition.”

In conjunction with the funding, Simpplr announced a number of new executive hires, including Tim Lambert as Chief Revenue Officer, Bala Kasiviswanathan as Chief Product and Customer Experience Officer (formerly Chief Product Officer of Tidal | X, the moonshot factory (formerly Google X), Parag Kulkarni as Chief Technology Officer (previously, Senior Vice President of SaaS Engineering at Nutanix), Aykut Firat as Chief Data Scientist (former Chief Data Scientist at Brandwatch), and Paige Leidig as Chief Marketing Officer (former Chief Marketing Officer at NetBase Quid).

“The employee experience continues to be a major focus for employees and employers alike. A key pillar of a positive employee experience is engagement. Simpplr makes it easy for employees to feel connected to one another and their employers, creating belonging and ultimately, driving performance,” said Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures. “As companies prioritize employee needs, Simpplr’s mission to transform the work experience for each and every employee through better engagement, regardless of location, is essential for any company focused on business growth.”