Australia’s newest unicorn Employment Hero closes $181 million funding round

HR and payroll platform Employee Hero has closed its latest $181 million funding round bringing the tech platform to unicorn status with a valuation of $1.25 billion.

Return investor SEEK led the round, alongside OneVentures and AirTree Ventures.

According to Ben Thompson, co-founder at CEO at Employment Hero, “Our latest valuation is recognition of all the hard work everyone has contributed to building a great company and a testament to our mission of creating as many quality employment opportunities as possible.”

Thompson said that the business, serving SME customers, is assisting to remove anxiety from SME business leaders as it helps them to find and manage work as well as track payments, spending and savings.

“This, combined with KeyPay joining the Employment Hero family, will set a new bar for what people expect from employment. It’s incredibly exciting and we have a lot of work ahead to continue to make employment easier and more valuable, for everyone.”

Employment Hero acquired workforce management and payroll solution KeyPay as part of the business’ goal to bring together its four key pillars, include talent solutions, core HR, payroll and eBenefits.

According to Phil Bernie, managing director at KeyPay, “[The acquisition] opens up incredible opportunities for KeyPay’s staff, customers and partners by adding greater capability and capacity to all areas of the business. Joining a company that is aligned on culture, core values and a drive to deliver the best customer experience is an extremely motivating way to kick-start KeyPay’s next chapter.”

KeyPay will remain an independent brand, and is expected to receive ongoing investment.
The acquisition enables Employment Hero to reach over 80,000 SMEs and manage over 750,000 employees.

According to Andrew Bassat, co-founder of SEEK Investments, “We are delighted to lead the investment in Employment Hero. The business has performed exceptionally well over a sustained period. Employment Hero is still early in their growth journey with enormous opportunities to pursue and the addition of KeyPay expands the potential significantly.”