PeopleStrong targets regional growth with strategic backing from Goldman Sachs

PeopleStrong, a leading regional human capital management (“HCM”) SaaS provider, announced that the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Alternatives has acquired a majority stake in the company. This acquisition underscores the company’s ambitious growth strategy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (‘GCC”) region, with a particular focus on key markets such as UAE and Saudi Arabia. The expansion aligns closely with national priorities around Emiratisation, Saudization and the broader push for workforce digital transformation across the region.

PeopleStrong is uniquely positioned at the intersection of three transformative shifts: the digitisation of enterprise HR, the adoption of AI, and the rise of SaaS innovation. The company offers a comprehensive, AI-powered HCM platform with robust capabilities across applicant tracking systems (ATS), payroll, employee experience and talent management. It serves leading organisations across key industry verticals, including banking, financial services and insurance (BSFI), retail, aviation, healthcare and manufacturing. With multi-country payroll capabilities and over 1.5 million paychecks processed monthly, PeopleStrong is recognised as one of the largest and most trusted cloud payroll providers in the region.

PeopleStrong’s clientele includes many of the Middle East and South Asia’s most respected enterprises, including Flydubai, Azizi, Tamkeen, Sobha, Transom Catering, Alamar, Omantel, Life Pharmacy, Oman Air, Axiom, Aditya Birla Group, L&T, TATA, Mahindra Rise, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Ergo, Paytm and Air India.  

Currently, the company serves over two million individual users and 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 of 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."  

Rajat Sood, managing director in growth and corporate equity investing at Goldman Sachs, said: "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. We look forward to supporting this management team and company’s next stage of growth by leveraging the global resources and network of Goldman Sachs."

"We’ve seen tremendous momentum in HR tech adoption across the Middle East, which has been a core part of our regional strategy,” said . "To support our long-term expansion, we’re investing in R&D to tailor solutions for the Middle East’s evolving regulatory and operational landscape.  PeopleStrong is also actively pursuing strategic partnerships to deepen our footprint across the GCC and broader MENA region.  To support this growth, we will continue to strengthen our on-the-ground team across sales, support and key functional areas."

"As organisations in the region modernise their people strategies, one area gaining particular traction is integrated talent development. Many enterprises are prioritising local workforce growth but lack the systems to effectively support these ambitions. Our solutions are already helping forward-looking employers like FlyDubai and Omantel build stronger, future-ready talent pipelines. We're also looking closely at strategic acquisitions to accelerate our ability to serve these evolving needs. With Goldman Sachs’ support, we now have the scale and capability to drive meaningful, long-term impact," he added.

PeopleStrong maintains operational teams in Dubai with strategic engagements across key Emirates and major cities in Saudi Arabia.  This presence uniquely positions the company to support regional enterprises in achieving their ambitious HR digitalisation and workforce transformation goals. 

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