Shiftsmart raises $95m in Series B

We should rename this week the International Week of Gig Economy Tech (or something a little more catchy). This is because there have been three investment rounds for shift management startups amid talent shortages linked with the ‘Great Resignation’.

First, Swedish-headquartered Quinyx received $50 million from Battery Ventures on Wednesday. Then, yesterday, Spanish Jobandtalent closed a $500 million Series E that will help it deepen its European and US footprint.

But now, US-based Shiftsmart has raised $95 million in a Series B. The round was led by D1 Capital – S12F, Imaginary Ventures and Spieker Partners also participated – and it brings its total investment to $117 million since it was founded six years ago.

Shiftsmart is a workforce management platform that helps match up hourly workers with shifts.

CEO Aakash Kumar told TechCrunch that Shiftsmart helps “employers expand the total size of their market by breaking the work down to the shift level.”

To do this, it really prioritizes a seamless and easy-to-use user experience for both the workers and employers.

Talking about the round, S12F managing partner Jeff Leventhal told TechCrunch: “Marketplaces are hard to build and get working, but Shiftsmart’s technology is meant to be flexible for both the employer and employee.”Talking about the round, S12F managing partner Jeff Leventhal told TechCrunch: “Marketplaces are hard to build and get working, but Shiftsmart’s technology is meant to be flexible for both the employer and employee.”

This funding comes as Shiftsmart was ranked by Deloitte as the 96th fastest growing company in North America.

In fact, Deloitte itself uses the platform, as does Humana, Subway and AirBnb, as well as 400,000 workers across more than 50 countries.

A bright future for Shiftsmart

Shiftsmart is planning to use the funding to continue to scale its offerings, and enter new sectors, including healthcare.

It also plans to hire more employees. It has doubled its workforce to 60 over the past year.

Talking about the round, Kumar told TechCrunch: It’s an exciting time for the business, and the global labor shortage has made it critical.

“Our main focus is how to scale up operations to be able to absorb demand and create more unique experiences for workers as we learn more about their behaviors.”“Our main focus is how to scale up operations to be able to absorb demand and create more unique experiences for workers as we learn more about their behaviors.”

With the labor market still in flux, the gig economy isn’t going anywhere, and so neither is time-saving tech. Watch this space.