India: Talent engagement platform Sense raises $16m led by Avataar Ventures

Artificial Intelligence-based talent platform, Sense, on Thursday said it has raised $16 million as part of its Series C funding round, led by Avataar Ventures.

Existing investors Accel and Google Ventures also participated in the round.

Along with the fund raise, Sense has roped in former InMobi executive Sanjay Dharmani as managing director for its India operations. In his new role, Dharmani is expected to grow the team in the region across both tech and non-tech positions.

As a part of the fundraise, Nishant Rao, founder of Avataar Venture Partners, will join Sense’s board of directors.

Founded in 2015, Sense is an enterprise solution that provides a system of engagement for talent acquisition teams. It enables personalised communication across the entire talent lifecycle at scale, and also automates manual tasks for recruiters.

“We see India as a highly strategic market for us. The tech talent in Indian is very robust and knowledgeable in software-as-a-solution (SaaS). This global expansion allows us to tap into that rich talent market to grow our product and engineering team as well as a dedicated marketing and customer success team. And eventually it will serve as our regional headquarters for broader Asia expansion which itself holds a $110 billion market potential,” said Anil Dharni, chief executive and co-founder of Sense.

Since inception, Sense has serviced more than 400 customers across the world including Amazon and Kelly Services. Without sharing exact details, Sense claims that it has doubled revenue and employee headcount, over the past year.

“Based on my extended stint running LinkedIn in the region and thereby developing a great appreciation for HR tech, I’m really excited about the immense potential Sense holds. The macro-shift to contingent labor and gig economy has already grown 10x over the past decade and yet we’ve only just begun scratching the surface. I believe our investments in new products will allow Sense to go from a robust system of engagement to a truly distinctive network or platform play for the future,” said Nishant Rao, founding partner, Avaatar Venture Partners.

This article was first published on livemint.com

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