Why did Astera Labs choose headcount365 for headcount planning?

As Astera Labs scaled across more teams, locations, and budget owners, People and Finance leaders wanted one scalable, auditable system where every team could plan, approve, and track hiring together. headcount365 connects directly to the HRIS and recruiting systems Astera Labs already uses, extending its existing tools rather than replacing them.

How does headcount365 give Astera Labs one source of truth for headcount?

headcount365 ties every requisition back to the approved headcount plan and keeps plans, requisitions, and changes in sync automatically. FP&A pulls current, approved headcount directly into its own planning tools, so People, Finance, and Talent Acquisition all work from the same numbers.

How does headcount365 support audit history and governance?

A built-in audit log records exactly what changed, when, and by whom, including changes to location, level, and compensation, along with the reasoning behind each change. Permissions and approval workflows give Astera Labs the compliance and control a growing public company needs without extra overhead.

What results has Astera Labs seen with headcount365?

Astera Labs now has an always-reconciled headcount dataset, automated approvals and reporting, hiring manager self-serve planning, and built-in governance. People, Finance, and TA leaders spend less time on administration and more time on decisions.

What is the headcount365 MCP?

The headcount365 MCP lets individual headcount owners connect headcount data to their own AI tools, so they get exactly the data and workflows they need from one aligned system. Astera Labs is a key launch partner for the headcount365 MCP.

How Astera Labs enhanced their headcount process with headcount365

“Headcount365 has transformed the way we operate, giving us the transparency, efficiency, and centralization we need to manage headcount effectively.”

Priyanka Agrawal
DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS & SCALING INITIATIVES

Table of Contents

One Source of Truth for Headcount Planning

Astera Labs is a global leader in purpose-built semiconductor connectivity solutions engineered to eliminate data, memory, and networking bottlenecks in rack-scale AI infrastructure. Leveraging a software-defined architecture, the company delivers a customizable technology stack spanning PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, UALink, and NVLink Fusion that integrates seamlessly across diverse CPUs, GPUs, and workloads.

Planning for scale

As Astera Labs grew revenue, its hiring plans grew with it, across more teams, locations, and budget owners. People and Finance leaders saw a chance to invest in headcount infrastructure that could keep pace. They wanted one scalable, auditable system where every team could plan, approve, and track hiring together.

Their requirements were clear:

Scalability: a process that works just as well at twice the headcount
Centralization: one shared home for plans, approvals, and changes across every team
Audit History: a complete record of what changed, when, and who approved it
Efficiency: automation in place of manual updates and reconciliation, so the team's time goes to strategy

Why headcount365

Astera Labs chose headcount365 to build a unified headcount planning process. It connects directly to the HRIS and recruiting systems the company already relies on, so it extends the current tools rather than replacing them.

headcount365 adds the planning context that recruiting systems aren't designed to hold. Every requisition is tied back to the approved plan, so it's always clear which roles are planned and budgeted. A built-in audit log shows exactly what changed, when, and by whom, including changes to location, level, and compensation. The reasoning behind each change is captured in the system, where everyone who needs it can see it.

FP&A now pulls current, approved headcount straight into its own planning tools whenever something changes. People and Finance work from the same numbers automatically.

A partnership built for the long term

Astera Labs saw the implementation as a chance to define its process as well as roll out a tool. The headcount365 team worked alongside them to design workflows for internal transfers, interns, and non-standard employment types, and built custom fields to fit Astera's business.

headcount365 can be configured several ways to reach the same outcome. So rather than prescribing one setup, the team walked through the trade-offs of each option, and every group landed on the configuration that fit how it works best. Where Astera Labs needed a workflow, headcount365 built it with them.

Results: what's possible with headcount365

An always-reconciled headcount dataset. Astera Labs has one source of truth for progress against its headcount goals. Plans, requisitions, and changes stay in sync automatically, so every team works from the same numbers.
Automated processes and reporting. Approvals, updates, and reports that used to take manual effort now run automatically. People, Finance, and TA leaders spend less time on administration and more on decisions.
Hiring manager self-serve. Leaders plan and manage their own headcount directly in the tool. Astera Labs' most senior operators, now runs their entire planning and management process in headcount365, alongside every other team.
Built-in governance. Permissions, approval workflows, and a full audit trail give Astera Labs the compliance and control a growing public company needs, with no extra overhead.

What's next

Astera Labs and its dedicated headcount365 support team meet regularly to keep building and automating the workflows TA leaders, systems teams, and budget owners rely on. Upcoming work includes better notifications, richer reporting, and deeper support for Astera-specific data, leading to an AI-assisted reporting suite.

Astera Labs is also a key launch partner for the headcount365 MCP. It will let individual headcount owners connect headcount data to their own AI tools and shape their experience to get exactly the data and workflows they need, all from one aligned system.