SEEK is cashing out of Employment Hero. Is this the clean break both need to win the global HR-tech race?
SEEK Investments is moving to sell its remaining stake in Employment Hero, ending an eight‑year journey from cornerstone backer to competitor just as the HR software company hits significant global scale.
Employment Hero has surpassed A$300 million in annual recurring revenue, is growing more than 30% a year, and now serves over 350,000 businesses across Australia, the UK, Canada and other markets, processing more than $120 billion in annual payments. The business has evolved from an SME-focused HR platform into a global player with a strong AI roadmap.
CEO and co-founder Ben Thompson framed SEEK’s exit as a natural handover rather than a rupture, saying Employment Hero is entering its “next chapter from a position of strength”, underpinned by international demand, disciplined expansion and a focus on long-term shareholder returns.
From partner to rival
SEEK first invested in 2017 via its venture arm (now SEEK Investments), eventually becoming one of Employment Hero’s largest external shareholders alongside OneVentures and KKR. Last year, SEEK sold a $95 million stake to KKR and is now putting its remaining holding on the block as part of a planned selldown.
Over time, the relationship shifted from strategic partnership to direct competition. Employment Hero’s Swag app, which lets small businesses post jobs for free while managing rosters, leave, payments and perks, began to undercut SEEK’s paid job listings model and increased overlap in the hiring funnel.
Competitive tensions spilled into the open when SEEK terminated Employment Hero’s access to its job posting API, a key integration used by joint customers to publish ads to SEEK from within Employment Hero’s platform. Employment Hero sued in the Federal Court, alleging anti‑competitive conduct; SEEK denied the claims, citing enforcement of its API terms.
In January, Employment Hero dropped the case and formally accepted that SEEK’s decision was not made for an anti‑competitive purpose. API access was reinstated under SEEK’s conditions, and both companies have since sought to normalise the working relationship even as SEEK prepares to exit the share register.
For SEEK Investments, the sale is about crystallising “exceptional returns” from a long‑running winner, simplifying an increasingly awkward mix of partnership and rivalry, and recycling capital into earlier‑stage opportunities. It also offers a counterpoint to pressure elsewhere in SEEK’s portfolio, including a substantial write-down of its Chinese jobs platform Zhaopin.
A successful exit from Employment Hero provides a rare bright spot and a signal to investors that the Growth Fund can still generate strong outcomes in a tougher tech valuation environment.
New chapter for an AI-first Employment Hero
SEEK’s departure removes a structural conflict with a major rival and clears space for new long‑term investors, including global private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds and large institutions looking for late‑stage growth assets.
With its scale, international footprint and payments volume, attention will now turn to whether Employment Hero can sustain its growth while converting its AI strategy into durable profitability and market leadership. Thompson has outlined three priorities:
- Deepen presence in core English‑speaking markets (UK, Canada, Australia)
- Push further into “agentic AI” that can autonomously execute complex, regulated employment and payroll workflows, not just assist HR teams
- Maintain a sharp focus on long‑term shareholder value as it scales
The result is a clean break. SEEK exits a lucrative but conflicted position; Employment Hero continues its rise as an independent, AI‑driven HR platform with a clearer runway for global expansion.
