Deel hits $17.3 billion valuation, aims to expand globally

By Jaspreet Singh (Reuters) -Payroll startup Deel said on Thursday it raised $300 million in a funding round, led by new investor Ribbit Capital alongside existing backers Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue Management, valuing the company at $17.3 billion. The San Francisco, California-based company said it plans to use the fresh capital for acquisitions and expand its payroll infrastructure with a goal of offering native payroll in more than 100 countries by 2029. The Series E fundraise comes amid its ongoing litigation with rival Rippling, which has sued Deel alleging racketeering, trade‑secret misappropriation and unfair competition, while Deel filed a defamation suit against Rippling in April, calling the claims a multi‑year smear campaign. Earlier this year, Rippling raised $450 million in a Series G funding round, valuing the company at $16.8 billion. Deel Chief Executive Alex Bouaziz declined to comment on the litigation but termed it as a "frivolous lawsuit". Bouaziz said Deel crossed $100 million monthly revenue for the first time in September and it generates roughly $15 million to $17 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Founded in 2019, Deel provides services to help companies hire international employees and contractors while ensuring compliance with local labor laws. It also automates payroll processing for businesses operating across multiple countries. Deel was earlier valued at $12.6 billion after a $300 million secondary purchase by General Catalyst and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala earlier this year. The company recently acquired its London-based competitor Omnipresent in a deal worth around $15 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. Deel had crossed $1 billion annual revenue run rate in the first quarter and earmarked up to $500 million for acquisitions this year to bolster growth, the company previously said. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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