Goldman Sachs Acquires Majority Stake in HCM Leader PeopleStrong

PeopleStrong, a leading human capital management (HCM) SaaS provider headquartered in Gurugram, has announced that the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Alternatives has acquired a majority stake in the company. This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone for PeopleStrong, reinforcing its significant role in India’s HR technology landscape and accelerating its next phase of growth—particularly in AI-led product innovation.

Powering Growth at the Intersection of AI, SaaS, and HR Tech

PeopleStrong stands at the convergence of three major industry shifts: the digitization of enterprise HR, the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, and the rise of SaaS innovation from India. Its AI-powered HCM platform offers robust capabilities across applicant tracking systems (ATS), payroll, employee experience, and talent management. News reports peg the deal size at $130 million.

The company serves leading organizations across key industry sectors including Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Retail, Aviation, Healthcare, and Manufacturing. With multi-country payroll capabilities and over 1.5 million paychecks processed monthly, PeopleStrong has become one of India’s most trusted cloud payroll providers.

Its clientele includes a wide range of prominent enterprises such as Aditya Birla Group, L&T, Cholamandalam, TATA, Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Ergo, Paytm, RBL Bank, HDFC Life, OLA, Air India, Cipla, Schneider, Amara Raja, Indigo, and V-Mart.

Currently serving over two million individual users, PeopleStrong aims to significantly expand its scale and geographic footprint, targeting 10 million users globally over the next five years.“We have remained focused on balanced, sustainable growth and are proud to stand out today as one of the few EBITDA-positive SaaS companies with a leading market position,” said Sandeep Chaudhary, CEO, PeopleStrong.

“We are excited to join forces with Goldman Sachs. With their global expertise in SaaS and AI, we look forward to driving the next phase of our growth together through continued innovation and operational excellence.”

A Vision Realized Through Innovation and Resilience

"PeopleStrong stands at the intersection of talent and technology—delivering real, measurable value to its customers at scale through its technology-led human capital management solutions,” said Rajat Sood, Managing Director, Growth and Corporate Equity Investing, Goldman Sachs.

“We look forward to supporting this management team and the company’s next stage of growth by leveraging the global resources and network of Goldman Sachs.”

Goldman Sachs has been an active investor in India, having deployed more than $8.5 billion in alternative capital since 2006.

“When we started, HR SaaS wasn’t even a recognized category in India—there was a clear gap in the market. We chose the long road, building our technology while educating the ecosystem along the way,”said Pankaj Bansal, Founder, PeopleStrong.

“Today, the company stands out for its strong customer base, product strength, and disciplined execution. I’m deeply grateful to the clients who trusted us with the opportunity to grow and deliver. I also want to honour my late co-founder, Shelly Singh, and the incredible team of leaders who came together to help shape and build this category from the ground up.”

“We are incredibly proud to have built a robust, scalable, and fast-growing SaaS business in partnership with a highly capable and resilient management team,” said Manish Gaur, Managing Director and Head of Enterprise Tech, Multiples Private Equity. “We are confident that they will continue to take the business to greater heights.”

PeopleStrong is one of the highest-rated HR mobile apps globally, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating across both iOS and Android platforms. It has consistently featured in Gartner’s Voice of the Customer report and was named Customers' Choice for Cloud HCM Suites for enterprises with over 1,000 employees from 2022 to 2024.