People analytics leader Visier becomes latest Vancouver firm to reach unicorn status

The company announced a massive Series E raise.

Credit: Visier

Visier co-founder and CEO Ryan Wong

The company announced a massive Series E raise

When unicorns aren’t actually that rare, do you still call them unicorns? In Vancouver, it seems like a valid question as Yaletown-based people analytics and workforce planning platform Visier becomes the latest homegrown company to achieve a valuation of at least US$1 billion.

Today the firm announced a Series E round of US$125 million, led by U.S. investment giant Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The raise reportedly makes Visier the first independent vendor in the space to reach a $1-billion valuation.

It also means that the company joins seven other recent Vancouver tech firms with the billion-dollar designation, including AbCellera Biologics, Dapper Labs, Galvanize, GeoComply, Themis Solutions (Clio), Thinkific Labs and Trulioo.

“There is unprecedented demand for companies to better understand the people within their organizations,” Visier co-founder and CEO Ryan Wong said in a release. “From HR leaders to people managers and executives, having insight into a workforce is critical for delivering the right outcomes for the business, the employee, the customer, and a fair and just society.”

Visier, which has more than 8,000 customers around the world, including the likes of Adobe, Electronic Arts and Uber, will use the funding to extend and accelerate product development and international expansion.