HR and payroll platform Hi raised $300 million in recent financing at a valuation of $17.3 billion. The transaction was conducted by a recent investor Ribbit Capital and previous investors Andreessen Horowitz AND Coatue Management. Other investors incl Generic catalytic converter AND Green Bay Ventures also participated.
The round for New York-based Deel comes after funding for HR tech startups has increased overall this yr. As of mid-September, HR software startups around the world have raised $1.9 billion in enterprise funding this yr, in line with Crunchbase data. That’s barely lower than the $2 billion raised by such startups in all of 2024. US-based human resources software startups raised a total of $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion raised last yr.
However, this yr’s numbers are a far cry from the flagship figures of 2021, when startups in this industry raised $10.5 billion globally, in line with Crunchbase data.
There is also a recent round of Deel an ugly and closely watched corporate espionage scandal between part and rival Ripplingwhich he picked up himself $450 million Series G round despite the drama, which was valued at $16.8 billion earlier this yr.
Investors were apparently more interested in Deel’s business metrics than the Rippling saga. Deel said it reported revenue of $100 million for the first time last month and finished profitable for the third straight yr. It reached $1 billion in ARR earlier this yr and says it now counts greater than 37,000 firms as customers, processing $22 billion in payroll annually.
The company, which has raised nearly $1.3 billion from investors since its founding in 2019, said it should use the money injection for strategic acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint to greater than 100 countries by 2029 and speed up automation and AI-powered offerings.
“Deel – as a fully remote, global company with employees in over 100 countries – is uniquely positioned to build products that enable global expansion,” founding father of Ribbit Capital Mickey Malka – wrote in the statement. “The company and its management have unlimited opportunities ahead.”