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Payroll and HR platform Employment Hero is insatiable for global growth this year. After already raising $45 million as recently as March, the Sydney-based company announced yesterday it had raised another $140 million.
The Series D round led by US-based venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners takes Employment Hero's valuation to $800 million, up from $250 million within six months according to the company.
The funding will go towards growth in Southeast Asia and Europe, enhancing its talent management solutions and building fintech capabilities that add to its "people, payroll and benefits" solution that went global in October 2020 with moves into New Zealand, the UK, Malaysia and Singapore.
After its SEEK-backed raise in March, Employment Hero also slated its intentions to push into new markets such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The company founded by Ben Thompson and Dave Tong finished off FY21 with 325 staff on board, and has processed around $14 billion worth of wages for the 6,000-plus businesses it serves worldwide.
Moving into new markets with a product like Employment Hero's isn't as simple as transplanting the same service into a new jurisdiction. The team has needed to develop and share "hyper-local" and timely resources, accessing pre-built employment contracts and policies that comply with local employment laws.
"We've experienced exponential growth in the past year both locally and overseas. Our success in global markets has instilled in us the confidence to pursue further expansion, with SMEs and employees at the heart of our ambitions," says Ben Thompson, the group's CEO.
"Managing a distributed workforce continues to be a challenge for businesses and our solutions are designed to make remote working as seamless and sustainable as we possibly can.
"Supporting SMEs through this transitional period and helping them elevate their mission, has fuelled our passion for growth. We've seen the positive impact that Employment Hero's automated, simple and powerful solutions have had on businesses in vastly different markets and we're committed to reaching more employers in the near future."
Thompson says employers all over the world are faced with myriad challenges.
"Not only are they striving to succeed in business, but many are navigating the complexities of employment law, people management and cultural growth," he says.
"This is compounded with the fact that many are struggling to stay afloat, keep up-to-date with the constant evolution of consumer expectations, behaviour, and the roadblocks presented by the ongoing global health crisis.
"Employment Hero helps reduce employment compliance burdens so they can focus on thriving."
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