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WorkMotion founders | Image credit: WorkMotion

Berlin-based WorkMotion, a global HRtech platform that enables companies to hire and onboard employees internationally, announced on Thursday ( June 23) that it has raised $50M (approximately €47.23M) in its Series B round of funding.

Co-founder of WorkMotion, Carsten Lebtig, says, “Particularly in today’s challenging economic climate, where growth equity investment is declining, we are exceedingly pleased to be closing on this funding round. It’s testament to the proven success of the company, as well as the demand for solutions that tackle the challenges around today’s globally distributed workforce, and the desire to take advantage of an international talent pool.”

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The funding comes after the company’s recent growth, including a Series A funding round in August, 2021, and the appointment of Pieter Manden as Head of Trust and Employer Compliance earlier this year.

Investors in this round

The round was led by first-time investor Canaan Partners. The investment includes $40M in equity plus additional debt financing. Heliad Equity Partners and GR Capital also joined as first-time investors. Existing investors Activant Capital, XAnge, and Picus Capital also participated in the round.

Joydeep Bhattacharyya, General Partner at Canaan, says, “Superior products and a focus on regulated economies have helped WorkMotion become the international hiring platform of choice for European companies. This investment is a bet that this is only the beginning in a humongous market. We’re excited to support WorkMotion at this crucial time and look forward to the next stage of innovation.”

Capital utilisation

WorkMotion says that the proceeds will be used to expand the automation capabilities of its Global Talent OS platform, which removes the complexity of employment for HR teams without the need to invest in additional infrastructure.

Building on the company’s automation will be a key focus area as it will allow WorkMotion’s clients to easily generate remote work contracts, calculate country-specific salaries, and authorise ‘work-from-anywhere’ requests, among other actions.

Additionally, the funds will help contribute toward future solution offerings as well as enable WorkMotion to build on its position as a strategic HR partner to its primarily European client base, offering technology, expertise and best practices to help companies hire and retain staff globally.

Maximilian Mayer, Partner at Activant Capital, says, “Companies today need to hire globally and run these processes in a seamless way. Europe is the most complex market in the world in which to do so. WorkMotion has built the leading platform that empowers European companies of all sizes to scale across the globe, remotely, and in full compliance with ease. It has been great to see how much the platform developed since we invested the first time only nine months ago, and we’re proud to do it again as they continue to scale.”

About WorkMotion

Founded in 2020 by Carsten Lebtig, Felix Steffens, and Karim Zaghloul, the software startup enables companies to onboard and manage staff abroad. 

For instance, if a company from Spain wants to hire someone from Germany, WorkMotion can help create an employment contract. It will also assure that the contract is compliant with the laws of the country of employment as well as those of the company headquarters.

WorkMotion also offers services, including pay slips, tax registrations, and personnel management. The company claims that, unlike other Employer of Record providers, it helps organisations to hire globally without third parties and provides benefits for remote-first teams, such as managing ‘work-from-abroad’ requests. It boasts more than 500 customers.