PayFit raises €90 million in Series D funding

Paris-headquartered HR tech startup PayFit announced last week that it has secured €90 million (US$107 million) in a Series D round led by Eurazeo Growth, Large Venture and BPI France and supported by existing investors including Accel and Frst. This brings its total funding raised to over €179 million in five years.

PayFit was founded in 2016 by Ghislain de Fontenay, Firmin Zocchetto, and Florian Fournier (above, left to right), with the objective of automating payroll administration—typically a complicated and time-consuming task in France. The company subsequently expanded to Spain, Germany, Italy, and the UK.

In 2020, the startup's growth accelerated dramatically as demands for its platform shot up during the pandemic. Co-founder and CEO Zocchetto explained in a statement on its website: "As a result of the pandemic, HR professionals have faced a much higher workload and unfamiliar challenges. They have had to deal with various issues, including supporting the company's management with the implementation of remote work policies and ensuring employee wellbeing through new initiatives."

PayFit grew 40 percent last year and is targeting 80 percent this year. The recently raised funds will go towards its expansion plans, including increasing its head count from 550 to 800 by the end of 2021, and to 1,000 by the end of 2022. Most of the recruitment will be for product teams, according to the company.