Quick-to-read HR news & insights
From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.
Startups and investors are set to meet in Las Vegas in September as part of a special track during the HR Tech conference. The Investor Summit is designed to bring the two groups together and further the development of the next generation of HR technology.
“[The] HR Tech [conference], as a show, has always attracted innovators, and when the industry gathers in a place, investors [and] bankers show up,” said George LaRocque, HR tech advisor and analyst and founder of WorkTech, who is chairing the Investor Summit. “For a very long time, HR Tech had been attracting angel investors, VCs, private equity investment banks, family offices, every type of investor.”
Rather than holding space for these types of conversations between innovators and startups and investors during breaks in hallways or after hours in bars and restaurants, LaRocque and organizers are hoping to “create an environment where they can really connect more meaningfully.”
This is the second Investor Summit in this setting, and this year, rather than as a pre-conference event, the program will operate as a specific track, featuring multiple breakout rooms for presentations from startups seeking the ears of interested investors.
“We’re doing it during the conference,” LaRocque said. “We want to make sure that we can get as many investors as possible in the room for these startups and scale ups.” Organizers hope it will foster more “strategic content” for additional audiences.
Zoom out. Investment in HR tech is up this year, after a slight slump last year. There were 175 major HR tech announcements in Q1, according to a quarterly report from HRO Today. That’s an increase from 96 announcements in Q4 2023 and up by 52 YOY.
HR tech companies found $644.7 million in investment in Q1, up from $479.56 million invested in Q4 2023, but nothing compared to the $2 billion invested in Q1 2023, according to the report.
The investment in the sector is buoyed by the rapid expansion of AI capabilities in workplace and HR tech.