US-based online salary index PayScale has secured a $7m round of financing, led by SAP Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of Germany-based software conglomerate SAP.
SAP Ventures had already led a $10.3m round of series C financing for PayScale, which closed in July 2007. The round was also participated in by research and consultancy firm The Corporate Executive Board and media-focused investment bank Allen & Co.
A 2009 Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows PayScale later attracted $3.5m in unattributed funding from undisclosed sources. The series B round raised $7m in October 2005, following a $3.2m series A round in October 2004. Incorporating that figure into the other rounds of financing, PayScale has raised about $31m in investment thus far, Global Corporate Venturing estimates. PayScale did not respond to a request for comment on the amount it had raised.
Other investors in the present and previous rounds included investment firm Montlake Capital (previously known as Burke Dale Victor) and venture capital firms Fluke Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group and Trinity Ventures.
David Hartwig, managing director at SAP Ventures, said: "Compensation is a critical component of human capital management. PayScale brings a great value proposition – fresher, more granular data at lower cost – to the marketplace."
Founded in 2002, PayScale combines its database of worldwide employee compensation data with real-time profiling technology to provide a precise picture of current market salaries, for use by employees and employers alike.
PayScale chiefly plans to use the equity to expand its sales and marketing teams, while also investing in further product development. A ‘Compare Employers’ feature was recently added, allowing users to compare salary and benefits for a role across a range of competing companies.