SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30, 2019 — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the launch of the SAP.iO FoundrySan Francisco Winter 2019 Cohort. During the next three months, SAP will accelerate seven HR technology startups from across the globe as part of the program. In collaboration with SAP SuccessFactors management, the announcement will be made at the Cohort Launch Day at the SAP.iO office in San Francisco.

The new cohort includes startups that are pioneering exciting new capabilities for human resources, such as assistive intelligence that revolutionizes recruiting, mobile microlearning based on the science of adult learning and gamification, artificial intelligence-enabled mentorship matching, and behavioral science–based development tools for improving team performance. The selected startups will have access to curated mentorship and exposure to SAP® technology and application programming interfaces (APIs), as well as opportunities to collaborate with SAP customers who can benefit from their solutions.

The San Francisco cohort received more than 100 applicants, with 16 companies being invited to the program’s Selection Day in November 2018. Seven startups were selected to join the cohort, five of which have female and minority founders, reflecting SAP’s commitment to diversity and alignment with the SAP.iO No Boundaries initiative to offer venture capital and incubation to underrepresented entrepreneurs.

“We are excited at the opportunity and privilege to partner with these amazing ‘rising stars’ of the next-gen HR ecosystem, and to support them by bringing the best of SAP to bear, as they build innovative solutions that deliver high value to SAP customers,” said SAP.iO Managing Director Ram Jambunathan.

The cohort consists of the following startups:

1. Paradox — assistive intelligence platform that is transforming global talent acquisition and the candidate experience. Its flagship product, Olivia, enables talent acquisition and HR professionals to focus on what they do best, human interaction — while Olivia focuses on experience, automation and intelligence.
2. Censia — artificial intelligence and machine learning–based predictive recruiting solution powered by one of the largest professional data platforms in the world that automates the process of identifying and engaging the most in-demand talent for opportunities.
3. Sounding Board — leadership development platform that offers scalable, personalized coaching to help enterprises grow their next generation of leaders. It combines best-in-class coaching with enterprise-grade technology and the Sound Coaching methodology to drive positive business outcomes.
4. Gnowbe— mobile microlearning and engagement solution designed for business impact by revolutionizing corporate education through transformational learning — available anytime, anywhere. Its bite-sized social learning and gamification encourage active engagement and inspire behavior change. 
5. NextPlay — artificial intelligence app that facilitates internal mentorship matching at scale, follow-ups and goal tracking. Its chatbot personalizes employee career development to help companies attract, develop and retain more diverse talent.
6. RallyBright — team development platform that improves team performance and dynamics by empowering business leaders with actionable, behavioral science–based insights into the strengths and vulnerabilities of their teams.
7. Disco — real-time feedback tool designed to boost appreciation at work and reinforce organizational mission and values. Integrated into tools people use at work (Slack, Microsoft Teams and more), it helps celebrate when employees go above and beyond and enables managers to view detailed culture reports while spreading positivity at work.

“We’re excited to welcome this innovative group to the San Francisco Winter 2019 Cohort,” said SAP SuccessFactors Global Head of Product Amy Wilson. “SAP is passionate about advancing technology that enables humans to be more human in the workplace, and the impressive startups selected will certainly help HR and business leaders solve some of today’s biggest people challenges in fresh and innovative ways.”

The program will culminate at the Cohort Demo Day in April 2019.

For more information, visit the SAP SuccessFactors® solutions website or the SAP News Center. Follow SAP SuccessFactors solutions on Twitter at @SuccessFactors and SAP at @sapnews.