Textkernel, an Amsterdam-based global leader in AI-driven recruitment and talent management technology, has made a strategic combination with best-of-breed staffing app and portal specialist Akyla.
Akyla marks the second step in the international buy-and-build strategy of Textkernel since its management teamed up with strategic software investor Main Capital Partners (“Main”) in October 2020. Last year, Textkernel successfully acquired U.S-based competitor Sovren to solidify the group’s position as a global market leader in AI-driven parsing and search-&-match technology.
Like Textkernel, Akyla is considered a true best-of-breed solutions provider in the HR software market. Akyla is a provider of flexible mid-office working platform solutions that enable automated recruitment, selection and efficient management of flex workers. The company offers two innovative solutions (e-UUR and Xplican) that assist customers with administrative processes involved in the management of flex workers, including onboarding, hourly registration, time interpretation, digital signing and vendor management.
The organizations foresee opportunities for a strong and unique combined product proposition that will competitively position the combination in the market. Notably, by gathering richer and more actionable data, the combination will improve the effectiveness of the search & match algorithms of Textkernel and empower staffing organizations to more effectively match candidates and jobs at the right time automatically. Candidates will enjoy a more tailored and suitable offering of potential jobs, which should lead to higher redeployment and placement rates for staffing agencies and a higher degree of job satisfaction and employee productivity for flex workers, while lowering the sourcing costs and efforts of staffing agencies.
Together, Akyla and Textkernel serve a combined customer base of more than 2,500 organizations, including staffing organizations, payrollers, corporates, job boards, HR solutions providers and other participants in the broader HR market.
Martin Schievink, CEO of Akyla, is excited to join forces with the internationally experienced Textkernel team and looking forward to the cooperation: “Textkernel is an excellent strategic match for Akyla. We share similar cultures and ambitions to help staffing organizations around the globe with our propositions.”
Gerard Mulder, CEO of Textkernel, foresees a fruitful strategic partnership with strong potential to offer a value-added proposition together with Akyla to staffing organizations and software partners across international markets: “While exploring the opportunity for cooperation the response to our ideas from customers and partners were nothing but extremely positive. That feedback, combined with our very similar cultures and go-to-market strategy and Akyla’s wish to become more internationally active, strengthened our belief that joining forces will accelerate the growth of both companies significantly.”
Main Capital has long been in contact with the leadership of Akyla and envisions a productive strategic combination that could bring sustainable competitive advantage, according to Pieter van Bodegraven, Partner at Main and Chair of the Supervisory Board of Textkernel: “We strongly believe in putting together driven and passionate entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation for the benefit of their clients. Over the past 20 years, this has been a key value creation driver in the successful organic and buy-and-build growth strategies we have executed together with our business partners. With Akyla and Textkernel, we combine two organizations that are both renowned for their skills and expertise within their respective adjacent domains of the HR ecosystem.”
Textkernel
Textkernel is an international leader in AI-driven solutions for parsing, data enrichment and matching people and jobs. Textkernel enables thousands of recruitment & staffing agencies, employers, job boards, HR software vendors and outplacement & redeployment agencies worldwide to work smarter and more effectively by creating efficiencies in the HR and recruitment process. Textkernel is headquartered in Amsterdam, with satellite offices in Dusseldorf, Paris and the United States. Including Akyla, the group employs ca. 175 people.
Akyla
Akyla is a provider of flexible mid-office working platform solutions that enable automated recruitment, selection and efficient management of flex workers. The company offers innovative solutions that assist customers with all administrative processes involved in the management of flex workers. Headed by its co-founders, Akyla’s ca. 30 employees serve a loyal customer base of more than 200 staffers, payrollers and HR services providers across the Benelux and Nordics regions.
Main Capital Partners
Main Capital Partners is a leading software investor in the Benelux, DACH and the Nordics. Main has almost 20 years of experience in strengthening software companies and works closely together with management teams of its portfolio companies as a strategic partner, in order to realize sustainable growth and build excellent software groups. Main counts over 50 employees and has offices in The Hague, Stockholm and Düsseldorf. As of October 2021, Main has over EUR 2.2 billion of assets under management. Main has invested in more than 130 software companies to date. These companies have created jobs for approximately 5,000 employees.
