Omidyar Network backed Aspiring Minds to be acquired by UK firm SHL

UK-based SHL has signed a deal to acquire talent evaluation startup Aspiring Minds Assessment to strengthen its human resource solutions.

SHL will receive Aspiring Minds' employee assessment and interviewing solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI).

While SHL did not disclose financial details of the deal, it expects the acquisition to close in November, it said in a statement.

The all-cash deal is pegged to be in the range of $80-100 million, The Economic Times reported.

Omidyar Network India, Ajit Khimji Group, Mukul Singhal, partner at Pravega Ventures Trust, and Tarun Khanna, founder of Axilor Ventures and Chaipoint are investors in the company.  

Aspiring Minds had raised $2.4 million from Omidyar Network in 2011. It had raised $400,000 from Ajit Khimji Group, Singhal and Khanna in 2008.

The 10-year old human resource startup, founded by Varun and Himanshu Aggarwal, uses analytics to provide employability solutions and improving recruitment and workforce efficiency of firms. Its flagship product, AMCAT, claims to enable over three million candidates to find suitable jobs each year.

"We are excited about the opportunity to be part of SHL and take our combined products and solutions to thousands of corporations across the globe,” said Himanshu Aggarwal, chief executive officer of Aspiring Minds. 

Gurugram-headquartered Aspiring Minds has clients across the US, China, India, Philippines and the Middle East. 

In the past, Aspiring Minds has itself acquired Indian startups such as Letsintern.com and Mizcoin.

“Our focus is on real-world applications of AI and we see an opportunity for unprecedented innovation in joining SHL,” said Varun Aggarwal, chief technology officer of Aspiring Minds.

“We’ll continue to ramp our investment, both organically and inorganically, in companies and capabilities that lead to better talent outcomes for our customers globally,” said Andy Bradshaw, chief executive officer of SHL.