Portfolio News| May 2025
Announcing our Investment in Awardco
Reposted from the original press release shared by Awardco
Sixth Street Growth and Spectrum Equity join existing investors General Catalyst and Ryan Smith, Partner at HXCO, in a strategic round of financing to fuel a new era in the employee rewards, recognition and engagement space.
Awardco announced today a $165 million Series B round of funding with a valuation that eclipses $1 billion, further solidifying its leadership and innovation in the employee rewards and recognition space.
By powering recognition for customers like AT&T, Pacific Life, Adobe, and Hertz, Awardco has grown to over six million users across 163 countries and offers more than 300 million reward options. This rapid expansion is reshaping employee experience worldwide and positioning Awardco as the leading force in workplace technology. With this new investment, the company will broaden its rewards and recognition platform with additional solutions for employee engagement and performance, leverage AI to drive deeper employee insights and automations, enhance HRIS and partner integrations, and scale its global infrastructure to power the next era of work.
“We’re transforming work by making recognition a seamless part of everyday culture and the engine that powers employee engagement,” said Steve Sonnenberg, Co‑Founder and CEO of Awardco. “This investment also allows us to further scale the world’s largest configurable rewards marketplace, empowering organizations to recognize employees in ways that are meaningful, flexible, and truly valued.”
“Our mission isn’t changing, it’s expanding,” said Tanner Runia, President and Co‑Founder of Awardco. “Guided by our customers’ evolving needs, we’re taking recognition into new areas where it’s delivering even greater impact. We enter this next phase from a position of strength, with sustained high growth and a cash‑flow‑positive business, focused on executing at an even larger scale.”
In addition to this exceptional expansion of capabilities, Awardco’s new London office has fueled rapid growth across the EMEA market, further reinforcing its global momentum as the leader in employee rewards and recognition. As more organizations increasingly turn to Awardco for recognition, engagement and incentives, the platform has solidified its reputation as a true culture engine—earning a place among G2’s Top 100 Software Products.
“Recognition is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic imperative,” said Nari Ansari, Managing Director and Susie Liu, Vice President at Sixth Street Growth. “Awardco is leading the way with a scalable, global-first platform that serves organizations of all sizes, and we’re excited to partner with the team during this next phase of growth.”
“Awardco’s rapid innovation, exceptional customer satisfaction, and flexible platform set it apart,” said Adam Gassin, Principal at Spectrum Equity. “Organizations across industries are using Awardco to rally teams around their top strategic, operational, and cultural priorities, and we’re excited to help accelerate the company’s vision for its customers and the category.”
Awardco’s leadership also continues to grow through bold initiatives like the annual RCGNZ Summit in Park City, Utah, one of the premier events in HR Tech. With new capital and a bold vision, Awardco is building a world where work is more meaningful, connected, and rewarding.
Union Square Advisors LLC acted as financial advisor to Sixth Street Growth in connection with the investment.
About Awardco
Awardco builds culture, incentivizes behavior, and powers modern engagement through employee recognition and rewards. Trusted by 3,000+ organizations, including Fortune 500 leaders, Awardco offers the world’s largest reward network—no hidden fees, no inflated markups. With the flexibility to create recognition, incentive, milestone, and behavior-driven programs, Awardco drives engagement, improves retention, and delivers significant cost efficiencies. The company is headquartered in Lindon, Utah. Learn more about Awardco at www.awardco.com.
About Sixth Street Growth
Sixth Street Growth makes investments in mid- and late-stage technology companies. The Sixth Street Growth team partners with founders and management teams to provide differentiated capital solutions to accelerate organic and inorganic growth. Sixth Street Growth is the dedicated growth investing platform of Sixth Street, a leading global investment firm with over $100 billion in assets under management and committed capital. Sixth Street has invested over $10 billion in more than 70 companies through its Growth franchise since inception. Select Sixth Street Growth investments include Airbnb, AvidXchange, Bloomreach, Clio, Gainsight, Kaseya, Keyfactor, MasterControl, MDLIVE, Seeq, Spotify, Stripe, and Sprinklr. For more information, visit www.sixthstreetgrowth.com, and follow Sixth Street on LinkedIn.
About Spectrum Equity
Spectrum Equity is a leading growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support to innovative companies in the information economy. For over 30 years, the firm has partnered with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams to build long-term value in market-leading software, data, and consumer internet businesses. With offices in Boston, San Francisco, and London, the firm is investing its tenth fund with $2 billion in limited partner capital. Representative investments include AllTrails, Ancestry, Definitive Healthcare, GoodRx, Lucid Software, Origami Risk, SurveyMonkey, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Verafin.
Media Contact:
press@awardco.com
www.awardco.com/newsroom
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