Future of work tech startup Mesh.ai raises $11M to disrupt the traditional performance management reporting and cycles in companies

If there is one lesson we all learned from this pandemic, it is that remote work is critical to the success of every company. The pandemic has now accelerated the future of remote work. However, remote work is not without its challenges. The old tools used in centralized office settings no longer cut it. Companies need new innovative tools to increase employee productivity and performance.

Enter Mesh.ai, a ‘future of work’ tech startup that is disrupting the traditional performance management reporting and cycles in companies. Mesh is reimagining the boring old corporate software for managing goals or Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), feedback, and performance reviews into a simple social network. Employees love the visibility and personalized growth nudges, while leaders appreciate the predictive insights about their company. Backed by Sequoia & YCombinator, we have been growing rapidly across SMEs in the US and India.

Today, Mesh announced it has raised an $11 million series A funding round led by RTP Global. Since its inception two years ago, Mesh.ai  has grown superfast (16x revenue in 12 months) and is expanding across the US and APAC region.

This funding round comes less than a year after its $5.1m seed round, taking the total funds raised to $16.1m. The new capital raised will primarily enable Mesh to focus on building a global team for further expansion in the US and APAC markets. Mesh is already working with a range of unicorn startups including Pipefy, Drip Capital, Groww, CRED, and others.

Founded in 2020 by Gaurav Chaubey, Saurabh Nangia, and Rahul Singh, Mesh’s performance management platform makes it easy for employees to manage goals, share feedback, and run one-on-ones. Companies globally are forced to administer traditional performance reviews that rely heavily on top-down feedback. Mesh replaces this unhelpful archaic process by enabling transparency around goals, continuous feedback, and coaching conversations.

In a statement, Mesh Co-founder and CRO Gaurav Chaubey said, “Traditional performance management tools were built for an era where companies were slow-moving pyramids. Today, if you continue to drive only top-down performance reviews, your top talent will leave and as a business, you’re likely to get disrupted very soon! Mesh helps modern companies scale a culture of real-time performance and growth conversations across peers, managers, and teams. Our vision is to enable 30 million people to achieve their full potential at work by 2030.”

Recent studies* have shown that performance management is by far the most despised people process in companies (with a net promoter score of -60). A 2021 study revealed transforming and reinventing performance management as one of the 10 most impactful practices. However, a staggering 83% of companies admit they don’t use advanced people analytics from processes such as continuous performance management and employee experience effectively. Interestingly, those companies that leverage advanced people analytics are more than 4 times more likely to engage and retain employees than those who don’t, almost 8 times more likely to innovate effectively, and more than 2 times more likely to exceed financial targets.

“When it’s done well, a continuous performance management approach motivates employees to not only accomplish their goals, but also to develop better relationships with their managers, grow and develop within the company, and excel at work that is most meaningful to them” commented Saurabh Nangia, Co-founder and CEO, Mesh. “In short, it can support a more human experience and we are here to enable this”.

Madhur Makkar, RTP Global said, “Last year, we backed Mesh based on the strength and the vision of the team. Since then, the team has executed really well to not only onboard stellar customers but also delight users. Leading this round was a no-brainer for us and we are thrilled for this continued partnership as Mesh builds a distinctive brand around the future of work.”

Mesh is a remote-first company that is committed to being that model organization, that its product helps its customers build. The US-headquartered HRTech startup has grown to a team of almost 50 employees spread across four countries.

In addition to benefits and offerings like equity ownership, unlimited and no questions asked time offs, learning allowances etc., all decisions and actions at Mesh are driven by their core values, L.O.V.E. – act with Love, nurture Openness, drive Velocity and think Exponential.  Equipped with a multi-layered tech stack, the company has gained prominence across industries in Southeast Asia and the US, with upcoming plans to further expand in APAC and the US.