Checkmate, a provider of comprehensive pre-employment screening solutions that based in the United States, has secured $1.6 million of seed funding to expand new markets including Southeast Asia.

In a statement on Tuesday, the firm announced the successful completion of its seed funding round, securing over $1.6 million from Singapore-based venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners.

This investment marks a pivotal moment in Checkmate’s journey, enabling the company to expand into new markets and enhance its platform, delivering even greater value to its clients.

According to the statement, the seed funding will be used to fuel Checkmate’s expansion into existing and new markets, including Australia, as well as the United States and Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines.

The funds will also support improvements in the company’s technological capabilities and user experience as more organizations seek reliable and efficient pre-employment screening.

“At Checkmate, we’ve made it our mission to turn what is typically an unenjoyable and cumbersome task, such as police vetting, into a streamlined and efficient process,

“Our solution significantly reduces the time-to-hire and enhances the candidate experience, ultimately helping businesses acquire top talent more effectively,” said Scott Inglis, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Checkmate.

According to him, Wavemaker Partners has been incredibly supportive of their vision, and this investment enables them to continue building a solution that their clients love.

“With Wavemaker’s backing, we are poised to scale our operations, deepen our impact, and continue innovating to meet the evolving needs of our customers,” he added.

Founded in 2019, Checkmate tackles critical challenges in human resource (HR) and recruitment, including lengthy and inefficient hiring processes, high-risk hiring decisions, and the complex compliance requirements of various legal standards.

The company has positioned itself as the first in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region to seamlessly aggregate all pre-employment background checks and reference verifications into a single, fast, and simple experience for all stakeholders.

“Checkmate is advancing the HR industry with a platform that integrates pre-employment screening, compliance checks, onboarding, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven reference checking,

“This comprehensive solution accelerates hiring, reducing time-to-hire from weeks to a mere three days, while also enhancing compliance and fraud prevention,” said Andy Hwang, General Partner at Wavemaker Partners.

“Additionally, by leveraging referral data for personalized onboarding, Checkmate improves the overall candidate experience–an often overlooked aspect of the process,

“With over 500 enterprise clients across nine countries, Checkmate enables HR teams to focus on strategic priorities,” he added.

Wavemaker Partners is Southeast Asia’s leading venture capital firm investing in early-stage enterprise, deep tech, and sustainability startups.

Since 2012, it has backed more than 200 companies across the region, with over $600 million in asset under management (AUM) and exits generating over $1.8 billion in enterprise value.

Today, 85 percent of Wavemaker’s active portfolio startups in Southeast Asia are contributing to at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal.

In 2021, the firm launched Wavemaker Impact, the region’s first-of-its-kind venture builder that co-founds climate-tech startups with experienced entrepreneurs.

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