Australia-based closed an $8 million Seed-1 round to help companies stay more engaged with employees — something many are looking to do as the workforce has become more distributed.
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The round was led by . Other investors in the round included co-founder , and . Founded in 2019, the company has raised a total of $10.2 million.
Pyn is trying to solve the problem of too much corporate communication. Its platform — which integrates with business solutions like BambooHR and Workday — helps companies with personalized internal communication and guidance to employees regarding things like onboarding, promotions and reviews.
Co-founder and co-CEO , former head of people at both and , said it’s the type of tool HR departments have needed for years.
“We don’t take all the information we have on people to talk to them better,� he said.
Bringing martech to HR
Pyn uses data, automation and other tools similar to what the martech industry has done for years with targeted campaigns. However, Pyn brings that tech in-house for business communications — and at a time when companies are scrambling for better communications with employees as many are still working at home.
“While we believe there was a big opportunity here before the pandemic, with workforces becoming even more distributed, it has become critical that company communications be distributed on a regular cadence, customized for specific geographies, functions and employee needs,� said , general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Luijke said while the company obviously did not anticipate a pandemic, the event and the work-from-home environment it created did likely increase interest in the platform when it came to market about a year ago. The 10-person company does not release customer numbers, but expects to have about 100 by the end of the year. Its current clients include , and .
Pyn is hoping to ride the wave of increased interest in HR or people software, as companies look for ways to stay engaged with their employees. Co-founder and co-CEO said the space is seeing an “explosion� of interest as companies try to keep the culture they created intact.
The founders think that interest could lead to a large standalone company — and are not thinking about being acquired by a larger HR player.
“I think we want to build our own thing and our own company,� Williams said.
Illustration: .
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