MIT alumni Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang Co-Founded Deel in 2018
Deel, the international payroll company shattering hiring barriers worldwide, announced today that it has raised $156 million in Series C funding led by the YC Continuity Fund and has welcomed Ali Rowghani to its board. The round was co-led by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and Spark Capital. Dara Khosrowshahi, Lachy Groom, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jeff Wilke, and Anthony Schiller also participated in the round, among others. With a valuation of $1.25 billion, Deel has emerged as a market leader in the global payroll and compliance space.
Deel allows businesses to hire anyone, anywhere, in a compliant manner. Hiring and onboarding international employees or contractors takes under 5 minutes, with no local entity required. Paying them in 120+ currencies takes just a click.
Addressing pandemic pain points
Deel was co-founded in 2018 by MIT alumni Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang. Deel was already focused on this pain point when the pandemic hit, putting the startup in a prime position to help companies adjust to the dramatic shift in working and hiring norms.
“We built Deel to be the solution for companies wanting to hire anywhere around the world, from Argentina to Zambia,” said Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz. “We set out to solve a problem that the majority of businesses found inherently daunting. With Deel, we were able to consolidate everything into a product people trust and enjoy using to hire, to pay, and to give their global team members the best experience possible. Now with this third sizable investment, we can’t wait to open even more doors for businesses, employees, and contractors around the world.”
In 2020, Deel grew by 20X in revenue and now supports over 1,800 businesses worldwide. Deel’s explosive growth led to back-to-back funding rounds, totalling $206 million in under a year. With this Series C financing, Deel plans to continue international expansion by tapping into new markets and setting up 80 new Deel-owned entities across the world in 2021. Deel also plans to grow its team by hiring exceptional talent across the globe. Additionally, Deel will continue to improve, build, and grow their product offerings across the board by focusing on features such as employee equity and an open API.
Charging the lead towards the new normal
“The way people work is fundamentally changing and Deel is leading the way,” said Ali Rowghani, from YC Continuity. “Deel was at the forefront of remote work pre-pandemic, and it will be long after. The team is uniquely equipped to remove the obstacles of remote work so companies hire the best talent in the world, instead of only those nearest to them.”
“I’m excited to be investing in Deel the platform, which streamlines the complex minutiae of payments and compliance, removing the obstacles so that companies worldwide can go ahead and hire the best talent anywhere, instead of just the nearest talent to them,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO.
Deel’s team is entirely remote, and has grown from 7 employees to over 120 across 26 countries since January 2020. CB Insights projects the industry for virtual HR software will grow to $43 billion by 2026 as technology platforms like Deel help businesses make the transition to remote-first work.
Strengthening the APAC connection
While this is Deel’s official splash into the APAC scene, their roots in the region have long been cultivated.
For one, almost half of the contractors hired via Deel are based in APAC. For another, they have partnered with Singapore-incorporated NIUM to power their Deel Card. NIUM, the startup formerly known as Instarem, is a major payment institution regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The VISA program they are approved to operate manages the Deel Card.
Apart from growing its team by hiring exceptional talent across the globe, Deel will continue to improve their product offerings across the board by focusing on features such as employee equity and an open API.
About Deel
Deel is a global compliance and payroll solution that helps businesses hire anyone, anywhere. Using a tech-enabled self serve process, businesses can now hire independent contractors and full-time employees in over 150 countries, compliantly and in minutes. With more than 250 legal, accounting, mobility and tax experts as partners, Deel enables any business to compliantly create, sign and send localised contracts from a library of templates. Deel automates the process of collecting country-specific documents like tax documents from contractors and employees, to ensure they’re correctly set up. The platform also allows companies to pay international contractors and employees in more than 120 currencies with just a few clicks.
Learn more about Deel here.
– –
This article is produced by the e27 team, powered by Deel
We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.
The post Deel, the global startup who reached unicorn status, enters APAC appeared first on e27.