Exclusive: AdvantageClub.ai Raises $4 Mn From Axilor Ventures

Employee engagement and benefits platform AdvantageClub.ai has raised $4 Mn in a funding round led by Axilor Ventures. The round also saw participation from AFG Ventures, Bytez Ventures, Alteria Capital, and some angel investors.

Without disclosing the name of the funding round, AdvantageClub.ai founder and CEO Sourabh Deorah told Inc42 that it is not a bridge round. “We’ve stopped believing in the concept of series rounds,” he quipped. 

The startup, which has a presence in India, the US, the UAE, and Philippines, plans to utilise the capital for further geographic expansion and strengthening its presence in the US and Philippines.

According to the company’s regulatory filing, its India entity raised about $2 Mn from Axilor and Alteria. Of this, about $1.6 Mn was raised via compulsorily convertible debentures (CCD). The remaining $2 Mn was raised by company’s US-based entity, Deorah said

Founded in 2016 by Sourabh and Smiti Deorah, AdvantageClub.ai provides enterprises an AI-driven employee engagement platform with features like rewards, recognition, among others. The startup counts the likes of Times Group, EY, Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, among others, as its clients. 

Responding to a question about the startup’s financial performance, the CEO said, “We are on track to achieve $8 Mn in revenue this financial year. The total GTV (gross transaction value)  is expected to reach approximately INR 1,000 Cr ($118 Mn)”.

Prior to this funding round, AdvantageClub.ai raised $3.3 Mn from Jetty Ventures, Earlsfield Capital, SMC Advisors, among others in November 2021. Before that, it raised $1.7 Mn from Y Combinator, Broom Ventures, Kunal Shah, and others as part of the same round in 2021. 

The development comes at a time when employee engagement and rewards platforms are witnessing strong growth as enterprises explore options to retain talent. Zaggle, which went public last year, began as an employee rewards and recognition platform before it added other offerings. 

Last year, Pine Labs acquired Saluto Wellness’ proprietary enterprise platform to strengthen its employee rewards and recognition offerings.

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