Salesforce (CRM) Invests in India Cloud Startup Darwinbox

Salesforce CRM, through its strategic investment arm, Salesforce Ventures, recently invested $15 million in Darwinbox, a cloud-based human resource (HR) management startup in India.

Notably, this marks the company’s first investment in a company based in India as well as the APAC region, outside of Japan. Darwinbox had also received funding of up to $35 million from Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital, 3one4 Capital and others in previous funding rounds.

Darwinbox’s HR solutions are deployed by more than 1 million employees of above 500 enterprises across 60 countries. Its strong customer base includes companies like Tokopedia, Zilingo, Adani Wilmar, Myntra, Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories, Nivea, Puma and Paytm.

The startup’s cloud-based end-to-end recruitment management software enables position mapping and provides hiring and onboarding tools to recruiters. Additionally, it facilitates a flexible HR workflow with the automation of the HR processes along with employee payroll management.

Salesforce’s shares have gained 17% over the past year compared with the Zacks Computer – Software industry’s growth of 24.3%.

Increasing Investments in Cloud Companies Fuel Growth

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $832.1 billion in 2025 from $371.4 billion in 2020, reflecting a CAGR of 17.5%. Rising cloud adoption by enterprises, which has further accelerated due to the pandemic-induced remote working environment, serves as a key catalyst.

Salesforce is leveraging on this opportunity by increasing its investments in cloud computing companies through buyouts and partnerships. Salesforce intends to drive growth for these companies by providing business expertise along with funds to help them build a robust cloud infrastructure.

Since 2009, the company’s venture arm has deployed more than $3 billion of capital in above 400 technology startups across 22 countries and made more than 100 acquisitions. In 2020 alone, the company invested in 47 companies and pursued 16 acquisitions.

Moreover, Salesforce’s recent investment in Darwinbox further expands its portfolio of enterprise cloud companies, which include Zoom ZM, Anaplan, Twilio, Zylo, Box, Dropbox and Snowflake.

Riding on Strength in the Cloud Segment

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company largely benefits from strong customer acceptance of its cloud-based offerings owing to the ongoing digital transformation wave amid the coronavirus crisis. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past week, the company revealed that it entered into a partnership with Sally Beauty Holdings SBH, to expand the latter’s digital offerings with cloud-based enhancements. It is aimed to enable customers and salon professionals to deliver contactless beauty experiences online, at home and in-store.

Moreover, Salesforce’s cloud solutions were selected by Bentley Motors to provide a 360-degree customer view to its 4,000 employees across 60 markets. The automaker intends to deliver a more personalized customer experience based on their interests, with the help of Salesforce’s solutions.

Furthermore, Salesforce inked agreements with industry leaders, such as Amazon AMZN, Apple and Alphabet, for its cloud services, which have helped it strengthen its international footprint, thereby aiding its growth prospects over the long haul.

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