History
Deel was founded in 2019 by Alex Bouaziz (Deel CEO), Shuo Wang (Deel CRO), and Ofer Simon. [9] Bouaziz and Wang met while studying at MIT in 2013. [10] The founders launched Deel after encountering difficulty hiring international workers for their previous ventures. [10]
The company develops a platform for hiring, paying, and managing remote workers. [7] [5] [11] Deel hires employees through their own local entity on a company's behalf, acting as the employer of record [12] and managing compliance with employment laws in each country. This service includes managing benefits including health insurance, equity, tax advice and employee perks. [10] Deel currently owns around 150 entities globally and manages in-house, in-country payroll teams in over 70 countries, in addition to offering employer of record, contractor, immigration, HRIS, and performance management services. [13] [14] [11] The company processes international payrolls, allowing withdrawals in different currencies. [15]
Deel also provides templates for creating contracts that comply with local labor laws. [4] [15] It also helps workers access health insurance [5] [4] and provides immigration advice about visa processes to companies. [16]
Deel launched after entering the Y Combinator startup accelerator in 2019. [17] The company then raised several rounds of funding. In May 2020, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led a $14 million Series A round. [18] In September 2020, Spark Capital led a $48 million Series B. [4] [19] In April 2021, Deel raised $156 million in a Series C round, with participation from a16z and other investors, becoming a unicorn. [20] In October 2021, Coatue and DST Global led a $425 million in a Series D. [21] Deel also raised $50 million in May 2022, with contributions from impact investor, Emerson Collective, valuing the company at $12 billion. [22] [19]
As Deel expanded, Forbes reported "a five-person “Navy SEAL” team" went from country to country to quickly incorporate new local business entities. [9] It also began to make acquisitions to increase its owned infrastructure as well as HR and payroll services. [11] [23] [24] [25] [26]
Deel's business grew from $4m Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in 2020, to $54M ARR in 2021, $100M ARR in 2022; $500M in ARR; [27] and in February 2025, Deel reported it hit an annual revenue run rate of $800M, adding General Catalyst to its cap table, as part of a $300 million secondary share sale. [28] [29]
In February 2025, it reported having 5,000 employees. [2]
In March 2023, former workers claimed they were miscategorized. [30] [31] In June 2023, California state senator Steve Padilla sent a formal request to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency asking them to investigate the allegations. [32] [33] Deel denied the allegations and engaged with lawmakers to address their concerns. [34] [35]
In 2024, Deel created a "Future of Work" advisory board that includes Elaine Chao, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Labor; Heidi Heitkamp, former senator from North Dakota; Seth Harris, former acting U.S. Secretary of Labor; and Charlotte Corley, former banking and consumer finance commissioner for Mississippi. [34]
By the end of 2024, Deel had acquired 11 companies including payroll and bookkeeping software company Zeitgold; [36] HR software company Roots; [37] Australian-based payroll company Paygroup; [38] immigration startup Legalpad; [39] Capbase, a 'people development' startup based in Munich, Germany; [40] Zavvy, [41] Payspace, an African-based payroll engine; [42] IT device management service Hofy; [43] London-based money transfer service Atlantic Money; [44] compensation management startup Assemble; [45] [46] and Safeguard Global's payroll division. [29]
A federal RICO lawsuit filed in January 2025 against Deel accuses the company of flouting anti-money laundering regulations and facilitating the evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russia. [47] [48] The lawsuit stems from a court-appointed receiver seeking to recover damages from an SEC case against Brent Seaman of Surge Capital Ventures. [49] While the complaint alleges Deel violated certain Florida licensing requirements, it acknowledges the company has since obtained proper licensing in the state. [47] Deel denies any wrongdoing, and in January 2025 filed a Motion to Dismiss, calling the lawsuit baseless, and "a coordinated effort by a major investor in Deel’s primary competitor". [50] Deel continues to expand its compliance efforts through its DPayments subsidiary, which has obtained 26 state licenses for money transmission as of early 2025. [49] Deel has not been accused of any wrongdoing by the SEC. [49] On August 19, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted Deel's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and ruled that the case was closed. [51] [52]
In February 2025, CEO Alex Bouaziz stated that Deel was preparing for a potential initial public offering, saying the company was "getting ready to go out, potentially next year or a bit later." [53]
In March 2025, Rippling filed a complaint against Deel, accusing Deel of corporate espionage. [54] Deel has denied any wrongdoing. [55] In June 2025, Deel filed an amneded complaint alleging that Rippling stole its Employer of Record product, citing evidence of repeated infiltration by a Rippling employee using a fake company to access propritary documents and data. [56] On August 29, 2025, Keith O'Brien, the former Rippling executive associated with these allegations and who later became a paid witness for Rippling, dropped his lawsuit alleging surveillance. [57] [58] [59]
On June 3, 2025, Deel surpassed a $1 billion annual run rate in Q1, with 75% year-over-year revenue growth from April 2024 to April 2025. [1]
US$1 billion [1] (2025)
