Sparrow Raises $35M Series B to Scale AI Leave Management Globally

Sparrow, an AI-powered HR technology startup specializing in automating employee leave management, has raised $35 million in a Series B funding round led by Silver Lake Waterman, bringing its total investment to $64 million. The platform addresses the growing complexity of leave compliance amid evolving labor laws, remote work, and a patchwork of state and local regulations, serving over 1,000 companies including notable clients like OpenAI, Reddit, and ScaleAI. Sparrow's AI-driven system centralizes data to simplify and automate leave processes, enhancing legal compliance, payroll integration, and employee communications, which has helped customers save over $200 million in payroll costs by reducing errors and ensuring proper benefit claims. The company has experienced rapid growth, expanding 14-fold since 2021, as it aims to scale globally and address adjacent labor compliance issues. Industry experts highlight Sparrow’s ability to transform a traditionally manual and error-prone HR function into a streamlined, employee-centric experience through intelligent automation and deep compliance expertise. CEO Deborah Hanus emphasizes that Sparrow’s mission is to make leave management stress-free by providing timely, centralized data that benefits HR professionals, managers, and employees alike.