Payscale Acquires AI-Powered Recruiting Platform Datapeople, Creating Alignment Between Talent Acquisition And Compensation

The acquisition creates a new Payscale solution for TA and recruitment, enabling pay transparency compliance and more comprehensive compensation strategies

BOSTON, Sept. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Payscale Inc., the leading provider of compensation intelligence solutions, announced today that it has acquired Datapeople, an AI-powered recruiting platform that helps hiring teams create clearer, more effective, and more compliant job postings. The Datapeople platform positions Payscale to help talent acquisition (TA) and recruitment professionals streamline job postings, support compliance efforts with pay transparency requirements, and strengthen alignment between compensation and talent strategy. The deal furthers Payscale’s mission to unlock organizations’ full potential through compensation intelligence.

Rising market expectations around pay transparency are driving demand for a more unified approach to compensation. New pay transparency legislation in states like California, New York, and Colorado requires pay ranges in job postings, forcing HR leaders to consider how they communicate and manage pay from the first connection with a job applicant. Alignment between job postings and published ranges with managed job profiles and benchmarking data is critical for ensuring accurate and transparent compensation for existing and future employees.

“In today’s talent market, compensation is no longer just an operational necessity — it is a strategic lever that drives competitive advantage by enabling organizations to attract and retain top talent,” said Chris Hays, CEO of Payscale. “The companies that excel are those that treat Talent Acquisition and Compensation as true partners. With Datapeople, we can now connect the dots between pay benchmarking, salary ranges, job profiles, and published postings to ensure more equitable and competitive pay across every role.”

Datapeople’s transparent data-backed solution is based on the outcomes of over 100 million jobs from 80 countries around the world, providing a globally scalable solution trusted by leading brands. The Datapeople platform not only helps to streamline the job posting process but also supports critical compliance efforts based on applicable laws. Some jurisdictions impose up to $300,000 in fines for salary transparency and benefits violations.

“We founded Datapeople a decade ago with the belief that candidates deserve a more human-centric hiring experience, and that starts with a clear understanding of what their role will be,” added Amit Bhatia, Co-founder and CEO of Datapeople. “Working with the Payscale leadership team, it’s clear that they share our outlook that talent strategies must be connected across HR teams and driven by improving efficiency and outcomes through better data, AI, and transparency. We are excited to continue this important work as part of the Payscale team.”

Payscale’s existing job description management solutions will continue to support compensation professionals in managing job profiles for benchmarking, including robust job matching, aligning with existing pay structures and career frameworks, and establishing pay ranges. The Datapeople platform will provide TA and recruiting roles the ability to effectively manage job posting workflows for compliance and effectiveness. Together, the solutions will help bridge the gap between these two related functions in the compensation ecosystem to ensure that talent is hired, paid fairly, and supported in ways that benefit both the individual and the business.

In the future, Payscale envisions data sharing across these two sides of talent management with job profiles serving as a reference point for both drafting comprehensive job postings as well as benchmarking for published pay ranges. Once positions are filled, benchmark data would then be updated based on actual salaries paid. With this continuous feedback loop, compensation becomes an always-on function, enabling organizations to leverage it as a strategic driver of performance, culture, and competitive advantage.

Learn more about Payscale’s compensation intelligence solutions at www.payscale.com.

About Payscale
Payscale is the original compensation innovator for organizations who want to scale their business with pay and transform their largest investment into their greatest advantage. With decades of innovation in sourcing reputable data and developing AI-powered tools, Payscale delivers actionable insights that turn pay from a cost to a catalyst. Its suite of solutions — Payfactors, Marketpay, and Paycycle — empower 65% of the top companies in the U.S. and businesses like Panasonic, ZoomInfo, Chipotle, Quest Diagnostics, University of Washington, American Airlines, and TJX Companies.

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To learn more, visit www.payscale.com.

Contact: Press@Payscale.com