PeopleSupport

About PeopleSupport

PeopleSupport, founded in 1998 by Lance Rosenzweig and David Nash, established itself as a significant player in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company specialized in providing offshore outsourcing services. Its core offerings included customer management, technical support, transcription and captioning, and accounts receivable management.

The company's business model centered on leveraging a global workforce, primarily from the Philippines and Costa Rica, to offer cost-effective solutions to its clients. This strategy allowed them to serve a diverse client base across various industries, including travel, financial services, technology, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, and media. PeopleSupport's revenue was generated by providing these outsourced services, handling transactions like orders and customer service inquiries for U.S. companies.

A major milestone in the company's history was its listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange in October 2004 under the ticker PSPT. The company saw considerable growth, amassing around 8,000 employees and becoming one of the largest outsourcing firms in the Philippines. Over its lifetime, PeopleSupport raised significant funding, amounting to $138 million over three rounds, with its final Series E round in November 2007 raising $70 million. The company also made a strategic acquisition of Aegis RapidText in January 2006.

In August 2008, a definitive chapter in PeopleSupport's history was written when it was acquired by Aegis BPO, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Essar Group, for approximately $250 million. At the time of the acquisition, PeopleSupport had reported revenues of $140.6 million for the 2007 calendar year. The acquisition was part of a larger consolidation trend in the BPO industry. Subsequently, in 2014, the U.S. arm of Aegis, which included the former PeopleSupport operations, was acquired by Teleperformance, a global leader in the outsourced customer experience management space.