Darwinbox’s FY24 Revenue Jumps 58% Driven By Overseas Expansion, R&D Investments

HR tech platform DarwinBox claims to have reported 58% growth in its total revenue to INR 393 Cr during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), driven by overseas expansion as well as research and development investments.

Additionally, the company’s  EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin improved by 17 percentage points during the same period.

“We grew by 58% last financial year on the back of strong execution. In the last two years, we have made significant investments in R&D and international expansion which have delivered promising results. International markets in fact contributed more than 50% of the new ARR added this fiscal year and is only going to go higher,” Darwinbox cofounder Jayant Paleti told Inc42.

Darwinbox operates in India, Southeast Asia (Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia), Middle East (Saudi Arabia), US, UK, and Canada. 

The Hyderabad-based startup has seen its international revenue growing by 87% in FY24, a 5X jump over the last two years. Southeast Asia emerged as the second-largest market for Darwinbox after India, followed by the Middle East.

The company launched operations in North America 18 months ago as part of its global expansion strategy. It currently serves about 1,000 enterprise customers globally, with approximately 600 customers in India.

Darwinbox invested 46% of its operating revenue in R&D during last year, marking a 43% increase from the previous year. The company also made strategic IP acquisitions, including a compensation management platform that has grown 15X since acquisition.

“We are committed to continuously investing in R&D to stay ahead of emerging market trends and leverage technological advancements such as Generative AI. This has already enabled us to integrate intelligent automation, conversational experiences and smart insights into our platform,” Paleti said.

Last month, Darwinbox rolled out a new payroll platform featuring the RIVeR (review, initiate, verify & e-approve, release & report) framework to enable 100% digital payroll processing. 

The startup’s focus on product development has resulted in strong customer expansion, with Net Revenue Retention (NRR) at 110%. About 25% of new revenue last year came from existing customers subscribing to additional offerings, while in India this figure stood at 37%.

Darwinbox began its international journey in 2019 with expansion to Southeast Asia, followed by Middle East entry in 2021. The company now operates in five Southeast Asian countries and plans to launch a global payroll product for seven new countries early next year.

Paleti said, “What worked in India will not necessarily work there. Starting from tweaks to product, localising it for that geography to the kind of people that you need to hire, your broader strategy – everything needs to be different.” The US market required increased marketing spend and new talent compared to Asian markets.

The HR tech platform recently elevated its CTO Vineet Singh as the fourth cofounder and launched a next-generation payroll framework. The company was also recognised as the Customers’ Choice in 2024 Gartner Peer Insights for Cloud HCM Suites.

Founded in 2015, Darwinbox has been backed by global investors including TCV, Microsoft, Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV, Lightspeed and Endiya Partners. The platform currently serves over 3 Mn employees across more than 900 enterprises in 130 countries. The company turned Unicorn in January 2022 after raising $72 Mn in a funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).