Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 took part in a $200m series C round for ZenBusiness, the US-based business management service backed by staffing group Recruit, on Tuesday.
Growth equity firm Oak HC/FT led the round, which also included Cathay Innovation and Greycroft and which helped push the company’s valuation to $1.7bn.
Founded in 2017, ZenBusiness has built a software platform that enables entrepreneurs and small company owners to handle business management aspects such as employee health insurance, salary benchmarking and equity analysis.
Cathay Innovation had led a $55m series B round for the company in November 2020, investing alongside GreatPoint Ventures, Breyer Capital, Omega Venture Partners, Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Interlock Partners, Mark VC and ATX Venture Partners.
Recruit Strategic Partners, a corporate venturing vehicle for Recruit, participated in a $15m series A round in 2019 that was led by Greycroft and which also featured Lerer Hippeau and Interlock Partners, Rosecliff Venture Partners and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
Lerer Hippeau had led a $4.5m seed round the previous year that included Greycroft, Slow Ventures, Rise of the Rest, Founders Fund and multiple angel investors.
Kristin Bannon, investment director at SoftBank Investment Advisers, the subsidiary that manages the corporate’s Vision Funds, said: “ZenBusiness is building the new ‘operating system’ for growing businesses with support from a team of trusted experts who are changing the face of entrepreneurism in the United States.”
