UKG’s acquisition of Mo brings the ‘power of recognition to more organizations and people than ever before’

The latest M&A deal to hit the HR sector comes from UKG, as the global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management ,has announced its acquisition of UK technology innovator, Mo.

The London-based business was founded in 2013, and boasts a wide variety of customers, including brands such as Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Ocado Retail, and OVO Energy.

Mo has also been recognized for its award-winning culture-building platform, focused on bringing unseen work to light to help businesses celebrate their achievements and team morale, while better recognizing frontline workers.

Accelerating a shared mission with unmatched workforce data

Through the deal, Mo’s innovative employee rewards and recognition technology will be integrated into UKG Beacon – an intelligent and data-driven employee engagement platform for small-to-mid-sized businesses.

What’s more, Mo’s Former CEO, Luke Fisher – who will now take the role of Senior Product Management at UKG – say the acquisition will help bring the “power of recognition to more organizations and more people than ever before".

Together, we’re making it easier for every business to build cultures where appreciation is part of everyday work, especially for critical frontline workers,” he said in a statement.Together, we’re making it easier for every business to build cultures where appreciation is part of everyday work, especially for critical frontline workers,” he said in a statement.

“By combining Mo’s innovation with UKG’s scale and unmatched workforce data, we’re accelerating our shared mission to help organizations create stronger, more connected, and more human workplaces.”

The deal is the latest from a string of UK&I acquisitions from UKG that address the needs of frontline worker-heavy organizations.

Back in 2022, Quorbit, an Oxford-based startup, was acquired and is now part of UKG Strategic Workforce Planning – a platform enabling organizations to forecast staffing, while also aligning operational planning with employee hiring and development.

One year later, payroll provider Immedis was acquired by UKG . Through this deal, UKG was able to accelerate and enhance the development of its AI-powered, multi-country payroll experience, UKG One View.

Russell Howe, Group Vice President, EMEA at UKG added: “The acquisition of Mo reinforces UKG’s commitment to helping organisations create great workplace experiences.

"By embedding Mo’s recognition capabilities into everyday workflows, small and mid-sized employers can move beyond occasional praise to deliver consistent, meaningful recognition experiences across diverse teams and locations - including frontline employees who have traditionally had limited access to such programmes.

More broadly, this acquisition reflects what employers want from HR technology platforms. Businesses are looking for fewer, powerful tools that use AI to deliver more connected employee experiences.More broadly, this acquisition reflects what employers want from HR technology platforms. Businesses are looking for fewer, powerful tools that use AI to deliver more connected employee experiences.

"Alongside the launch of our Workforce Intelligence Hub, which provides a consolidated view of labour insights, and our UKG Bryte agentic AI, UKG is building exactly that – a consolidated, intelligence-led platform that helps organisations support their people and make better decisions, every day."

Stay tuned for more M&A updates.