Spilling The Tea on HR Tech- $300M+ in HR Tech Deals, a SHRM Rebrand and the AI Reality Check
The HR HuddleOctober 01, 202601:19:56

Spilling The Tea on HR Tech- $300M+ in HR Tech Deals, a SHRM Rebrand and the AI Reality Check

HR tech conference season is here, and this week's tea is piping hot. Stacey Harris and Cliff Stevenson of Sapient Insights Group cover the deals, the debates, and what it all means for your organization. 

They start with a big round of deal news. Phoenix Education Partners agrees to acquire Fuel50. BoomerangHR raised $12.7M for its solution that tracks and manages former employees. Spott raised $21M for recruiting agency tech, and Dave Duffield led a $250M raise for Ridgeline, which offers an investment management solution. From there, they react to the rebrand of SHRM's annual conference and discuss whether the use of OKRs is actually the best way to assess performance. They also look at the growing strain on middle managers, why AI shouldn't be grading its own work, and Amazon’s rehiring of former employees, some of whom had been laid off. 

Cliff also shares takeaways from NAPEO2026 and O.C. Tanner ‘s annual conference, and Stacey previews her HR Tech keynote and what's coming in this year's research. 

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