European HR platform to create 500 jobs following $125m funding round

An HR platform has announced that it is planning to create 500 jobs after receiving $125m in its latest investment round.

Personio, which has its UK offices in London and offers HR software for SMEs, has raised the Series D funding through a round that values the business at $1.7bn.

The round was led by existing investor Index Ventures, as well as Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northzone, Global Founders Capital and Picus, with new investor Meritech also joining.

The funding will see Personio double its global headcount from 500 to 1,000 by the end of the year.

Hanno Renner, co-founder and CEO of Personio, commented: “While the past year has proven difficult for many industries and businesses, it has at the same time accelerated the digitization of small and mid-sized businesses.

“It has also showcased the important role of HR teams, especially while so many of us continue to work remotely.

“We are grateful for a strong year in which we could grow to serve over 3,000 European SMEs.

“By further expanding our platform, we’ll continue to support our customers in tackling their current challenges and beyond.”

“This preemptive investment comes earlier than we had anticipated, as we’re still well funded from our previous round in January 2020.

“Such strong interest and support from our investors demonstrates not only the value of Personio’s offering, but also the huge potential the business has for further development and growth in the future. We are only scratching the surface of the market potential.”

Martin Mignot, partner at Index Ventures and Personio board member, said: “SMEs are the backbone of the European economy, employing 100 million people across the continent, but it is also a sector that has been neglected by software companies focused predominantly on large enterprises.

“Personio changes that, having created a set of powerful tools tailored to address the needs of small businesses.

“Under the leadership of the company’s co-founder Hanno Renner, Personio has quickly become one of the most impactful and impressive businesses in Europe, and we’re thrilled to be working with him and the team as they scale and respond to rising demand for their products.”