Workday Invests $250 Million in Ventures Business
February 15, 2023 – Workday, a provider of finance and human resources solutions, has announced a $250 million expansion of its Workday Ventures fund. The additional investment capital from Workday into Workday Ventures, the strategic capital arm of Workday Inc., builds on the company’s solid performance.
“This additional investment capital into Workday Ventures is reflective of our continued commitment to serving our customers, helping them not only adapt but thrive and lead the future of work,” said Pete Schlampp, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of corporate growth at Workday. “We partner with pioneering technology companies that are closely aligned with our values such as innovation, integrity, and customer service, and we are laser-focused on supporting customers, entrepreneurs, and changemakers that help redefine our industry.”
At a time when global fragmentation, emerging working models, and accelerated innovation are transforming the way organizations manage their workforce, Workday says that companies must embrace technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to help them rapidly adapt to change at scale today, so they are prepared for the business needs of tomorrow. To help support this, Workday is expanding its Workday Ventures fund to focus on larger growth areas, including emerging technologies like generative AI.
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The expansion of the fund will further reinforce Workday Ventures’ strategic focus on:
- AI and ML. Workday Ventures is focused on investing in global enterprise software companies that offer AI and ML technologies, empowering agile and insights-driven decision-making for finance and human resources teams. For example, Workday Ventures has invested in companies that offer conversational AI, such as Paradox, which provides a conversational recruiting platform to automate the talent acquisition process.
- Intelligent Automation. Workday Ventures will continue to invest in the intelligent automation of financial and HR business processes, and empower intelligent resource management for greater efficiency and talent optimization. For example, Workday Ventures has invested in Auditoria, which provides an AI-based platform to automate and increase the speed, accuracy, and productivity of accounts payable and receivable teams.
- Serving Targeted Markets. Workday Ventures is expanding investments into key industries, adjacent markets, and solutions to deliver even more value to customers. Workday Ventures, for instance, has invested in companies that serve the retail industry, such as Prevedere, which offers econometric forecasting powered by global data and AI, giving retailers a real-time view of future shopper demand and drivers.
“As a Workday Ventures portfolio company, Auditoria integrates with Workday Financial Management to deliver intelligent supplier automation, freeing suppliers and buyers from manual work, eliminating repetitive work, and speeding up the entire cycle,” said Rohit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Auditoria. “Partnering with Workday has enabled us to bring transformative solutions, powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language technology, to finance teams, enabling them to move faster and accomplish more through intelligent automation at scale. The investment and partnership with Workday have allowed us to partner with CFOs to optimize and transform their operations.”
This additional investment expands on Workday Ventures’ existing portfolio of 43 technology companies since the initial $250 million fund was announced in 2018.
Recent Appointment
Workday recently appointed Carl Eschenbach as co-CEO alongside Aneel Bhusri, the company’s co-CEO, co-founder, and chair. “We have an incredible opportunity in front of us and I’m confident that Carl, with his leadership skills and his proven experience in helping technology companies scale, as well as his commitment to culture and values, will help lead Workday through its next phase of growth,” said Mr. Bhusri. “Chano has been an integral part of Workday since he joined almost nine years ago and has helped us to achieve great success and growth. We thank him for his many contributions.”
Mr. Eschenbach, who will stay involved with Sequoia in a venture partner capacity, has more than 35 years of experience leading successful technology companies. He has been a partner at Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm, since 2016, having worked closely with high-growth, innovative enterprise software organizations. Mr. Eschenbach has also held several leadership positions at VMware Inc., a global virtual infrastructure software provider, including as president, chief operating officer, acting chief financial officer, and executive vice president of worldwide field operations, helping the company scale at that time to more than $7 billion in total revenue during his 14 years at the company.
Related: Workday Acquires VNDLY in $510 Million Deal
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
