Glints Secures $22.5 Million in Series C Funding

Glints, a career platform headquartered in Singapore, has announced the successful completion of a $22.5 million Series C funding round. This investment was spearheaded by PERSOL Holdings, a prominent Japanese firm specializing in human resources management.

Expansion Plans and Team Growth

The newly acquired capital will be strategically allocated to facilitate Glints’ expansion initiatives across key Southeast Asian markets. These include Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Furthermore, resources will be dedicated to bolstering the platform’s product and engineering teams through targeted hiring.

A Landmark Funding Round

According to Glints co-founder and CEO, Oswald Yeo, this funding round represents the largest investment to date received by a talent platform operating within Southeast Asia. This brings the startup’s total funding raised to $33 million.

Investors Participating in the Round

In addition to PERSOL Holdings, the funding round saw participation from a range of returning investors. These include Monk’s Hill Ventures, Fresco Capital, Mindworks Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, Binny Bansal (co-founder of Flipkart), and Xiaoyin Zhang (former partner and head of TMT China at Goldman Sachs).

Platform Usage and Growth

Established in 2013, Glints has rapidly grown its user base. Currently, the platform supports over 1.5 million professionals and is utilized by more than 30,000 organizations. Notable clients include Gojek, Tokopedia, Starbucks, and Mediacorp.

Target Audience and Long-Term Vision

While the platform currently sees significant usage from professionals in the tech and financial services industries, Glints maintains a broad focus on young to mid-level professionals. Oswald Yeo shared with TechCrunch that the company’s ultimate objective is to become sector-agnostic.

Differentiating Factors in a Competitive Market

Glints distinguishes itself from other job platforms, such as LinkedIn, JobStreet, and CakeResume, by offering a comprehensive suite of career advancement services. Beyond its job marketplace – which features over 7,000 active listings and attracts 4 million monthly visitors – Glints provides community features and skills-based education, including online courses.

Addressing the Regional Talent Shortage

A key value proposition of Glints is its ability to assist companies, particularly those in the technology sector, in navigating the ongoing regional talent shortage. This issue was recently explored in detail within a collaborative report produced by Glints and Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Cross-Border Talent Solutions

The report highlighted the potential of building geographically diverse teams to mitigate talent gaps in specific markets, such as Singapore. Glints’ remote work hub, TalentHub, experienced a doubling of its business in 2020, coinciding with increased employer acceptance of remote hiring practices driven by the pandemic.