Deel (company)

Deel
Company type	Private
Founded	2019; 5 years ago
Founder	Alex Bouaziz (CEO); Shuo Wang (CRO); Dan Westgarth (COO);
Headquarters	San Francisco
Products	Professional employer organization services and payroll services
Revenue	$500m (2024)
Number of employees	3,000 (2024)
Website	deel.com

Deel is an American payroll and compliance provider based in San Francisco, California.^[3]^[4] The company provides hiring and payments services for companies hiring international employees and contractors.^[3]

History

Deel was founded in 2019 by Alex Bouaziz, Shuo Wang, and Ofer Simon.^[5] Bouaziz and Wang met while studying at MIT in 2013.^[6] The founders launched Deel after encountering difficulty hiring international workers for their previous ventures.^[6]

Deel launched after entering the Y Combinator startup accelerator in 2019.^[7] The company then raised several rounds of funding. In May 2020, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led a $14 million Series A round.^[8] In September 2020, the company raised a $48 million Series B.^[9] In April 2021, Deel raised $156 million in a Series C round, becoming a unicorn.^[10] In October 2021, Deel raised $425 million in a Series D.^[11] They also raised $50 million in May 2022, valuing the company at $12 billion.^[12]

As Deel expanded, Forbes reported "a five-person “Navy SEAL” team" went from country to country to quickly incorporate new local business entities.^[5] It also began to make acquisitions. By 2023 it had acquired several companies providing HR platforms such as Zeitgold, Roots, PayGroup, and Capbase.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]

In January 2023, it reported having 2,000 employees.^[12]

In March 2023, former workers claimed they were miscategorized.^[18]^[19] 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.^[20]^[21]

In March 2024, Deel announced its acquisition of Zavvy, a 'people development' startup based in Munich, Germany, as well as PaySpace, an African-based payroll engine.^[22] The company reported it had reached a milestone of $500 million in annual recurring revenue^[23] and a headcount of 3,000.^[24]

Acquisitions

In July 2024, Deel acquired London-based Hofy, a company that helps manage office equipment for remote hires.^[25]

Products

The company offers a platform for companies to hire remote workers.^[3]^[13] Deel hires employees through their own local entity on a company's behalf, acting as the employer of record^[26] and managing compliance with employment laws in each country.^[6] As of August 2021, it owned 45 entities.^[13] As of 2023, Deel operates in more than 150 countries. The company processes international payrolls, allowing withdrawals in different currencies.^[27]

Deel also assists with creating contracts that comply with local labor laws using templates.^[9]^[27] It also helps workers access health insurance^[3]^[9] and provides immigration advice about visa processes to companies with digital nomads.^[28]