Syndio Raises $50M Thanks to Rising Demand for Eradicating Pay Disparities

Analytics platform Syndio has raised $50 million in Series C funding, thanks to rising demand for eradicating pay disparities.

Emerson Collective and Bessemer Venture Partners led the round, with additional investments from Voyager Capital. This was Emerson and Voyager’s third investment in Syndio, and Bessemer’s second. In total, Syndio has raised $83 million to date. The platform provides data-science powered software to enable companies to analyse and resolve pay equity issues due to gender, race or other comparisons; and to monitor it over time. Over 200 companies such as Nerdwallet, Nordstrom and Salesforce, use the software to measure the pay of over 2.6 million employees across the US. 

TACKLING WORKPLACE INEQUITIES

“Our commitment to advancing equity is captured in the belief that complex, systemic failures require different, modern approaches,” stated Fern Mandelbaum, Managing Director Venture Investing of Emerson Collective. “Syndio has a simple goal: make pay equity a reality for all employees.”

The new capital comes at a pivotal time of growth for Syndio and will help fund new product developments and hiring efforts to build an even greater platform to tackle workplace inequity; and meet the company’s growing customer demand. The company has tripled its annual recurring revenue every year for the last two years; and is forecasted to deliver a similar growth rate in 2022.

RISING DEMAND FOR PAY EQUITY ANALYSIS

In the last year, Syndio has seen a shift in customer use cases. More than ever, customers are taking a proactive approach, analysing workplace equity more regularly and within a broader scope. Before the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, only 50% of Syndio’s customers analysed race. Today, nearly all (98%) analyse both gender and race. Nearly a third (30%) of its clients have started analysing pay every quarter or twice a year. Dozens of Fortune 500 companies use Syndio’s software “because it reduces legal risk; helps attract and retain top talent; and it makes it easier for companies to understand why they may not be paying employees equitably; as well as how to fix it”.

Databricks, one of the first few companies to achieve Fair Pay Workplace certification, is a case in point. “At Databricks, we are understandably obsessed with data and finding the best ways to use it. Several years ago when we made a commitment to pay equity and to closing the pay gap, we set out to find the best, most data-centric, most unbiased way to analyse pay equity. Syndio was the obvious choice; and since starting to use the software last year we have gained a deep understanding of our pay equity and its underlying factors,” stated Databricks Chief People Officer, Amy Reichanadter. “The company provides not only the best software in the space; but access to experts and guidance as we move through our journey to pay equity.”

ERADICATING PAY DISPARITIES

“Every day, the pressure from employees, investors, and governments grows to close persistent workplace gaps to ensure that companies achieve enduring success in a 21st century economy,” stated Maria Colacurcio, CEO of Syndio. “The cost of ignoring these internal and external forces are clear: loss in brand power, increase in capital costs through employee attrition and inefficiency, and a collapse in morale. For the first time in history, technology exists to meet this moment and make workplace equity a foundational leadership principle. These equity analytics are being defined and pioneered by Syndio; and we’re thrilled to have Bessemer and Emerson’s continued partnership in fuelling our growth.”

EQUITABLE COMPENSATION

Pay equity attorney and MIT PhD, Zev Eigen, who serves as the company’s Chief Science Officer, co-founded the company in 2017. Colacurcio joined as CEO in 2018. Before that she co-founded Smartsheet.com, a work collaboration tool for companies of all sizes.

Syndio’s mission is to empower employers to eradicate unlawful pay disparities due to gender, race and ethnicity; and make ongoing compensation decisions that are consistent and equitable. According to Syndio, its customers drastically reduce legal risk; save millions in ongoing remediation; and create a positive brand reputation, which helps attract and retain top talent at every level of the business. Over time, it has helped companies, such as NerdWallet and Databricks successfully close their pay gaps, as reported.

Fair Pay Workplace announced the first six companies that have been certified for achieving pay parity and paying their employees fairly. Click here to read more.