The HRTech Wire · auto-curated
Friday, September 18, 2026
HR technology, every morning — wired to the companies and people behind it.
Fresh funding is flowing into AI-driven HR infrastructure, with Intermezzo securing $10M to advance global payroll automation and Kastle raising a $24M Series A to build AI workforce solutions for banking operations, while University of Phoenix expanded its footprint by acquiring an HR tech firm. On the compliance front, employers are navigating new pressures ranging from a 2026 Section 503 update affecting Form CC-305 to a DOL action recovering more than $732K in unpaid wages for restaurant workers, alongside an EEOC settlement tied to a vendor's failure to process an ADA leave request and fresh harassment and assault litigation against Activision Blizzard. Meanwhile, a growing trust gap in people analytics—with only 27% of C-suite leaders confident in HR's ability to deliver it—underscores the cultural challenges that accompany the industry's broader push toward agentic AI and autonomous HCM.
Filtered: #AI in HR · clear
💰 $10MpayrollFF News· 1:27 PM PDT
Intermezzo has raised $10M to build AI-driven global payroll infrastructure, according to FF News — a concrete funding milestone for an emerging vendor targeting a core HR-tech category.
Read the full storyskills intelligenceHR Tech Feed· 9:45 AM PDT
Phoenix Education Partners, University of Phoenix's parent, has agreed to acquire AI-powered talent mobility and workforce intelligence platform Fuel50 for roughly $31.5 million in cash, plus up to $8.5 million in performance-based earnouts through 2027. The deal brings Fuel50's skills ontology — covering more than 5,000 skills, the company says — under an education-focused owner, a pairing HR-tech buyers in talent mobility and internal skills marketplaces should watch closely.