Global talent mobility platform Topia raises US$15 million in Series D funding

Global talent mobility platform Topia this week announced that it has raised US$15 million in Series D funding from enterprise technology-focused venture capital firms NewView Capital, Notion Capital, and Workday Ventures. This brings the total amount it has raised since its founding to US$100 million.

Topia, set up in 2012, provides a cloud-based platform for the deployment, management, and engagement of employees, based on the idea that businesses today need to incorporate talent mobility into their talent and business strategy, and include it in their approach to employee experience. Its functions include automated scenario planning, case management, and even employee support and engagement. The firm's founders, Brynne Kennedy and Steve Black, originally developed the platform as a result of their own unsatisfactory experiences with relocating for work.

Shawn Farshchi, CEO of Topia, is of the opinion that today, data and technology serves an extremely important function in relocating people. “The role of technology in supporting and managing global employees while ensuring a positive experience is critical, especially given the current market environment,” he said.

Jazmin Medina, principal of NewView Capital, believes that Topia's platform enables businesses to take a more global approach in talent management. “A smart global talent mobility strategy is no longer optional for businesses to remain competitive,” she said. “Companies must think and act like global citizens and move from a micro to a macro approach to talent acquisition and management."

Topia's latest fund-raising round is considerably lower than the Series C funding it raised in 2018 prior to its rebranding. At the time named MOVE Guides, the company closed US$48 million then, and subsequently invested in the expansion of its product suite. For it to have progressed to a lower level of Series D funding suggests that either it is preparing to go public and needs an extra boost to do so, or has not met growth expectations.