HomeFundingZurich-based SaaS startup Beekeeper lands €50 million to better serve frontline workers

Zurich-based SaaS startup Beekeeper lands €50 million to better serve frontline workers

Born in Zurich, Beekeeper has been helping frontline businesses and workers enjoy more connectivity through digital solutions. The startup has now raised an additional €50 million as demand for its software keeps growing. 

Frontline workers include those who work in industries that keep our society and economy ticking over. From medical professionals to retail staff and hospitality providers, the deskless workforce accounts for about 80% of workers worldwide, and yet, they have been massively underserved when it comes to providing them with the digital tools they need to thrive as a team. 

As a result, the disconnect between employers and frontline workers is at a concerningly high level, and industries are suffering the consequences of staff shortages and burnout. Looking at the healthcare staffing crisis it’s plain to see how staff need to be better supported. How can they be expected to look after us, if they themselves are not well cared for? Or think again, and look at the travel chaos experiences over the summer as staff shortages in the hospitality industry caused major disruptions. 

The reality is, frontline and deskless workers, which are a growing number of people worldwide, need better digital tools. In doing so, they can be better connected with and engaged with their businesses, managers and wider teams – creating more successful, productive, and happier workforces. 

Aiming to provide that is Beekeeper, a startup born in Zurich. The startup has just raised €50 million, reaching total funding of more than €100 million. We reckoned they were one to watch, recently including them on our list of startups helping to engage employees for more connected teams.

The details:

  • €50 million new capital raised in Series C funding
  • New investors such as EGSB and Kreos Capital have joined
  • Existing investors include Energize, Thayer, SwissCanto, Keen Ventures, Alpana Ventures, Edenred Capital and Verve Capital 
  • The startup has now reached a total funding of more than €100 million, more than doubling revenues since the start of the pandemic

Dr. Cristian Grossmann, co-founder and CEO, Beekeeper: “The disconnect between employers and their frontline employees is at an all-time high, causing staff shortages and burnout that comes at a hefty economic price. This round of investment validates Beekeeper’s mission to tackle this disconnect and overcome the crippling status-quo it creates. Our mobile-first, frontline success system connects workers to the people, processes and information they need to be productive, engaged, and safe at work. This new way of working gives our customers an unmatched competitive advantage during challenging times.”

Sean Dunne, General Partner at Kreos Capital: “Our investment in Beekeeper comes at a critical time for the frontline workforce. As more industries from manufacturing to hospitality continue to grow in a challenging global economy, businesses have to keep innovating. Beekeeper is the best in class, mobile-first platform, designed to address frontline business challenges.”

Creating frontline success

Founded in 2012, Beekeeper was designed and built for deskless employees who — despite representing 80% of the global workforce — have been chronically underserved when it comes to workplace technology. With Beekeeper’s Frontline Success System, companies can automate paper-based processes, communicate with employees in real-time from anywhere, and improve the engagement, productivity, and safety of frontline teams.

The startup has been one of the leaders in the HR SaaS space, helping teams stay better contented and engaged, seeing early on the benefits of this, and enjoying the pandemic-influenced shift towards better company cultures. 

Juan Muldoon, partner at Energize Ventures: “More than 80 percent of the global workforce are deskless workers, and as digitization scales and transforms nearly every sector of the economy, there is increasing demand to connect and enable frontline workers with new technologies. We believe Beekeeper has set the benchmark for frontline success in industries that are instrumental to the buildout of a sustainable economy – from manufacturing and construction to transportation and logistics. We are excited to continue partnering with Beekeeper as they unlock greater efficiency and connectivity among frontline businesses.”

As the scaleup has now reached its 10th anniversary, it’s continuing to present itself as an innovator in this space – continuing to come up with fresh ideas to serve the frontline workforce on a global level. 

To this end, the company has also added new capabilities to its platform, Beekeeper’s Frontline Success System. The new product suite includes:

  • Frontline Workspace: At the core of the product and aims to improve access to general employee information (including shifts, payslips, and training), encouraging two-way communication throughout the team, and, giving frontline workers intuitive tools to work more efficiently
  • Employee Referrals: As frontline businesses struggle to fill open roles, Beekeeper’s Employee Referrals solution helps companies fill positions faster, retain more employees and lower recruitment costs. 
  • Employee Onboarding: A scalable solution to onboarding new hires faster and at less cost. It engages new hires from day one and optimizes the employee lifecycle with a communication plan that reinforces critical touchpoints of the new hire journey. 
  • Safety Management: a mobile-first Safety Management Solution designed for frontline teams to optimize their safety culture in four ways: training, accident prevention, accident reporting and safety metrics. 

Grossmann added: “I’ve never been more excited about Beekeeper’s work and the future we are building for frontline success. The disconnect between employers and the frontline is too great to ignore, and the level of support we’ve received from investors, customers and partners to revolutionize the employee experience for deskless workers underscores how critical our mission has become and highlights that the demand for frontline-focused technology is higher than it’s ever been.”

Since 2020, Beekeeper has seen exceptional growth with thousands of frontline business locations now using the Beekeeper platform in more than 150 countries, which continues to drive investor attention.  From hospitality and retail to manufacturing and construction, Beekeeper is helping customers in key frontline industries thrive during the pre and post-pandemic eras.

Bob Napierala, VP of Human Resources, Resort World Las Vegas: “When we opened in the middle of the pandemic, we needed a modern, innovative way for team members to collaborate and work together to provide our guests a world-class experience. And we wanted to weave it into our resort’s operations from their first day on the job. Working with Beekeeper helped us scale quickly and offered a level of security that we needed with so many workers sharing information on their personal devices. When the resort opened its doors, more than 5,000 team members were already up and running on the app and ready to welcome guests. In a fast-paced industry where every second counts, giving staff an easy to use, mobile-first solution that facilitates real-time, enterprise-wide collaboration is a game changer.”

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Patricia Allen
Patricia Allen
is the Head of Content at EU-Startups. With a background in politics, Patricia has a real passion for how shared ideas across communities and cultures can bring new initiatives and innovations for the future. She spends her time bringing you the latest news and updates of startups across Europe, and curating our social media.
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