Deel, a leading HR tech startup, has raised $300 million from US-based General Catalyst and Mubadala – the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi – in secondary investments, maintaining its US$12 billion valuation.

The undisclosed early-stage shareholders of the HR tech company have sold their shares to secure this investment, thus maintaining the company’s valuation from the 2022 fundraising round.

In 2022, the HR tech company raised $50 million, a smaller amount than expected, but its valuation jumped to $12 billion, more than doubling from $5.5 billion just six months later.

Before this deal, Deel also raised around $680 million investments. In 2024, it reported $800 million in annual revenue, which is a 70 percent increase from the previous year. This made it profitable for two consecutive years.

Sharing the news, Alex Bouaziz, CEO & co-founder of Deel, said, “2024 was a remarkable year in terms of business and infrastructure growth, as well as product innovation. We’re gearing up for an even bigger 2025. We look forward to working with new anchor investors to continue our momentum in the years ahead.”

Deel, currently operates in 150 countries with 5,000 employees, and is rapidly expanding globally with HR tech aquisitions. In 2024 alone, the HR tech startup completed five major acquisitions, including Assemble, Hofy, PaySpace, Zavvy, and Atlantic Money. These acquisitions are helping the company simplify global workplaces by combining performance management, AI analytics, and payroll into a one-stop solution for personnel management across Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.

In addition to this, the HR tech startup is bolstering its strategic leadership team, and Francis deSouza and Todd Ford are the latest additions to its board of directors.

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After the latest investments, experts say the HR tech company may be preparing for an IPO on Wall Street in 2026. However, the IPO plans may be affected by a money-laundering scandal tied to online platforms, in which a Florida lawsuit was filed last January. The lawsuit claims that Deel handled payments without proper licenses and helped launder $2.27 million. It also alleges that the company processed payments to Russia, violating U.S. sanctions, although the HR tech company has denied these claims.