The first quarter of the second year of the pandemic saw major activity in HR tech and Worktech continue an upward trend globally. This continued in the second quarter as well with many consolidations in the space.

Notable among these was Glassdoor announcing that it has acquired Fishbowl - an app that provides its users with an anonymous option to also post candid employee feedback, join chat groups and search for jobs. Another notable acquisition was Adecco Group agreeing to buy AKKA Technologies in a deal worth 2 billion euros which will make Adecco the world's largest provider of temporary staffing by revenue, overtaking Dutch rival Randstad.

Here’s a quick look at the significant acquisitions in the HR tech space and workspace globally in the second quarter of this year.

TopFunnel acquires Teamable

TopFunnel, the AI-powered recruiting startup, announced the acquisition of Teamable to supercharge referral-based recruiting. Teamable is the employee referral platform that transforms social networks into high-performance talent pools. TopFunnel's AI-driven approach automates much of the recruiting process, helping to source the right candidates for the right roles — and send them the right message. Similarly, Teamable's referral software aggregates employees' contacts from their social and professional networks to provide recruiters with a more focused group of potential candidates. The combined platform will help deliver better recruiting recommendations, and each product will also continue to be available on a standalone basis. 

Yello merges with WayUp

Campus recruitment specialist Yello announced that it is merging with WayUp, a HR tech startup that offers D&I recruiting solutions. The combined company will operate under the Yello name, but both brands will be retained. Both companies are based and operate in the US, WayUp’s database will become the sourcing arm of Yello’s campus recruitment platform. According to the company, the database contains over 6 million diverse candidates of various backgrounds, including new graduates and students from across the country who attended over 7,000 campuses.

Digital skill and cybersecurity institute HackerU acquires Cybint

Florida based digital skill and cybersecurity institute, HackerU announced its first acquisition along with a rebranding. HackerU, a 15 year old platform which provides digital workforce training to individuals across Asia, Europe and the US, has acquired global SaaS-based cyber educational platform, Cybint, for US$50mn. It is rebranding itself as ThriveDX. Following the acquisition, HackerU/ThriveDX is projected to have a greater geographic footprint and a broader range of B2B offerings. The move towards inorganic growth is in line with the steeply increased demand for cybersecurity talent worldwide. 

Adecco Group acquiring AKKA Technologies and BPI Group

Adecco Group  has agreed to buy AKKA Technologies in a deal worth 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion), the biggest deal in the Swiss staffing company's 25-year history. The acquisition of Belgium-based AKKA will make Adecco the world's largest provider of temporary staffing by revenue, overtaking Dutch rival Randstad.

In addition, LHH, its outplacement and HR consulting division plans to buy BPI Group, a French human-resources consulting provider, as part of a portfolio reorganisation.

Limeade acquires TINYpulse

ASX listed Limeade, the immersive employee well-being company, announced its acquisition of TINYpulse, a leader in employee listening software. The acquisition brings together two companies committed to helping their customers create healthy employee experiences.

Mobile-first recruitment platform Astronaut acquires POPSkul

Astronaut, an Indonesia-based mobile-first recruitment platform with offices in Singapore, announced its first acquisition of Indonesian on-demand skill certification platform, POPSkul, for an undisclosed amount. Astronaut plans to continue investing in the expansion of POPSkul and integration of skill certificates into the candidate profiles in the Astronaut platform through this acquisition. 

AI based recruiting software platform Paradox acquires Traitify

Paradox, an AI based recruiting software platform, recently announced the acquisition of Traitify, a mobile assessment platform. The acquisition will enhance the overall recruitment process, using mobile assessments, as per the candidate's skills, suitability and recruiter's requirements. It will modify and innovate the hiring procedures using fast visual based assessments. The mobile assessments are reported to bring 96% accuracy rates.

Glassdoor acquires Fishbowl

Glassdoor announced that it has acquired Fishbowl - an app that provides its users with an anonymous option to also post candid employee feedback, join chat groups and search for jobs. This acquisition will bring an additional 1 million users to Glassdoor's growing 55 million user platform, and more importantly, adds a social component to Glassdoor's company review function.

Renrui Human Resources acquires Shanghai Lingshi Human Resources 

Renrui Human Resources Technology Holdings Limited recently announced that it has acquired 51% equity stakes in Jiangnan Finance Technology (Changzhou) Company Limited as well as Shanghai Lingshi Human Resources Services Limited, through a sales and purchase agreement. Renrui has acquired and bought the equity interests of Jiangnan Jinke and Shanghai Lingshi for RMB 47million and RMB 33 million respectively. Jiangnan Jinke and Shanghai Lingshi, after successful completion of the acquisition, will become indirect subsidiaries of Renrui. 

The acquired HR companies provide flexible staffing and recruitment related services to local commercial banks in the PRC. The job roles include technology personnel, lobby managers, customer service executives, etc. Since Renrui is focused on strengthening its staffing services, the recent acquisition will be a boon for the HR company, enabling expansion of services in the banking and finance industry.

UKG Inc. acquires Great Place to Work Institute, Inc.

UKG Inc., a leading global provider of HCM solutions, acquired Great Place to Work Institute, Inc., the world’s most trusted authority on workplace culture with a mission to help organizations become great workplaces For All™. Great Place to Work Institute will continue to operate as a standalone company within the UKG organization, led by Michael C. Bush as CEO. UKG will offer Great Place to Work tools to existing and new HCM customers, with the goal of integrating data and benchmarking from the Great Place to Work ecosystem into its HCM solutions for easier access and actionable recommendations in the future.

HighBar partners acquires SilkRoad Technology

HighBar Partners ("HighBar"), a Menlo Park, CA-based private equity investor, announced its acquisition of SilkRoad Technology (“SilkRoad”), a global software and cloud-based technology platform designed to increase employee satisfaction and productivity. In combination with the deal, HighBar Partners will provide additional growth equity financing to further develop SilkRoad’s industry-leading SaaS capabilities, elevate its technology stack and deliver new secure global business solutions that support digital and workforce transformation in this expanding market. Existing investors Foundation Capital and Two Sigma Ventures also participated in the growth equity financing for SilkRoad with HighBar.