Sprout Solutions, an HR-tech startup based in the Philippines, announced that it has acquired AI and process automation platform Linnia for an undisclosed amount.
Linnia, which is the flagship platform of Aiah (Innovantage), provides a robotic process automation platform that automates repetitive tasks in desktop applications and digitises transactions in the procure-to-pay process.
It also provides a solution that allows new hires to enter their data to automatically update downstream systems, in addition to its robust low-code workflow automation platform.
The acquisition, according to Aiah CEO and co-founder Gian Paulo dela Rama, is the first step in the company’s shift toward making AI services more accessible.
“With the acquisition of Linnia by the largest and one of the fastest-growing B2B SaaS companies in the Philippines, Sprout Solutions, I am incredibly excited that more and more organisations will enjoy the benefits of automation,” Dela Rama added.
Sprout Solutions is a payroll and human resources platform from Manila founded by husband-and-wife duo Patrick and Alex Genty in 2015. It was launched to solve a pain point for businesses operating under the Philippines’ complex labour laws.
In the Philippines, businesses are required to file employee taxes, social security contributions, as well as corresponding reports.
In the announcement, Gentry said the acquisition will further boost Sprout’s HR ecosystem by injecting it with key workflow automation that will further simplify people’s tasks.
Sprout raised $6 million in a Series A funding round in 2019, led by global venture capital firm Point72 Ventures, the early-stage VC firm of American billionaire Steve Cohen. The deal marks Point72’s first foray into Southeast Asia.
The acquisition comes as Southeast Asian countries are the least prepared in the Asia-Pacific region for the upcoming challenges of workplace automation, according to a Deloitte report in 2021.