Seattle compensation data startup Payscale announced Tuesday that it is purchasing San Francisco-based competitor Agora Solutions amid a tailwind of lawmakers pushing employers for more pay transparency.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Agora’s team will join Payscale as part of the acquisition. “We look forward to adding their services to our broader portfolio and utilizing their talent and perspective across other parts of our business,” Payscale CEO Alex Hart said in a statement.
This marks the Payscale’s third M&A deal in the last 18 months. In August 2021, the company acquired CURO Compensation Ltd., a Scotland-based firm that also sells compensation software. Six months prior, PayScale merged with Payfactors, another compensation data management company.
Broader legislation is making pay transparency more accessible for job seekers. States including Colorado, California, New York, Washington and Ohio, among others, are forcing employers to market their salaries. This is providing a boost to software firms that provide companies with tools to communicate their overall compensation plans.
Payscale is majority-owned by private equity firm Francisco Partners, based in San Francisco, which has been its majority owner since April 2019. It now has more than 760 employees, according to LinkedIn.
Founded in 2020 by Miles Hobby and Geoffrey Tisserand, Agora is a platform for employers to communicate benefits packages, pay and equity plans. The startup raised about $7.5 million in total funding, according to PitchBook. Its backers include startup investor Jason Calacanis, AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant, and Reddit CEO and co-founder Steven Huffman, among other notable backers.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Payscale’s current CEO is Alex Hart.
