On track to become Europe’s leading HR software: Personio receives $75 million Accel-led Series C funding round

+++ Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lars Dalgaard, founder and CEO of SuccessFactors (today: SAP SuccessFactors), also participate in the round

+++ Additional capital to accelerate Personio’s development into Europe’s leading provider of HR software for SMEs

London, 21 January 2020: Today, Personio (www.personio.com), a provider of holistic HR software for small and medium-sized businesses, is receiving a $75 million Series C funding round to further its rise to European market leadership. This brings the total investment volume of the company, since its launch in 2015, to $130 million.

The funding round was led by Accel, the global venture capital firm founded in Silicon Valley, which has backed the likes of Slack and Facebook, as well as Spotify through to their IPO and UiPath through its rapid growth. Accel’s distinguished reputation and track record of successful investments make them a strong addition to Personio’s current partners.

Additional capital comes from Lightspeed Venture Partners, who have helped build many category defining companies such as Snap, AppDynamics and Mulesoft. In addition, Lars Dalgaard, the founder and former CEO of SuccessFactors, is joining the funding round of the Munich-based provider privately. Previous investors Index Ventures, Northzone, Global Founders Capital, and Picus Capital also participated in the round.

Hanno Renner, Co-founder and CEO of Personio, commented:

“Adding Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners, both highly experienced investors, to our list of supporters shows how much people believe in our product.

This preemptive funding comes earlier than we had anticipated. Such strong interest and support from the market demonstrates not only the value of Personio’s offer, but also the huge potential the business has for further development and growth in the future.”

Harry Nelis, Partner at Accel, and the newest member of the Personio board, also commented:

“While software entrepreneurs have traditionally overlooked developing solutions for SMEs, Personio has recognised this large and growing market of customers hungry for better solutions for their businesses. With millions of SMEs looking for improved human resource and recruitment management, Personio will lead the way. As Personio’s highly-ambitious team moves into their next stage of growth, we are excited to be part of the journey.”

Lars Dalgaard, Founder of SAP SuccessFactors, commented:

“Having had the chance to meet and work with Hanno and his team over the past few months, it’s remarkable to see how they’ve built a fast growing company and a great product, both with relentless focus on the customer. 

The idea of Personio is as simple as it is promising because it solves a significant and complex problem for HR managers and companies alike. Having built HR software services for enterprises myself, I know the value and impact this can have on businesses. Working with Personio as they now bring that value to small and mid-sized companies across Europe is an exciting prospect, and I’m happy to be part of the team and support them on their mission.”

Personio continues its strong growth in Europe

The new investment comes as Personio continues to grow strongly and expand into additional markets across Europe. Sales of Personio’s software have almost tripled in the past twelve months, while the number of employees has more than doubled to over 350. The company is set to reach 700 employees by the end of 2020.

With the additional capital, which was raised earlier than planned due to high demand from investors, the Munich-based company will further develop its cloud-based software and continue its rise to become Europe’s leading HR operating system. The company continues to specialise in offering solutions for recruiting, personnel administration and payroll for small and medium-sized companies.

Personio is already digitising the HR departments of almost 2,000 customers in more than 40 countries, ensuring greater efficiency and optimised HR processes. In addition, with Personio’s software, HR professionals can focus on becoming a strategic partner for management, and senior team members demonstrating their ability to contribute to the company’s success.

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About Personio:

Personio is the all-in-one HR software for small- and medium-sized companies. Based in Munich, Madrid and London, Personio’s mission is to make HR processes as transparent and efficient as possible so HR can focus on the most valuable assets in the company: the people.  The Personio solution includes human resources, recruiting and payroll and supports all core HR processes every business needs to do. More than 2,000 customers in over 40 countries use Personio. In 2019, tech consultancy GP Bullhound included Personio in a list of 50 European start-ups set to achieve a billion-dollar valuation over the next two years, giving them ‘unicorn’ status.

About Accel: 

Accel is a leading venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders with unique insights, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Algolia, Avito, Celonis, Cloudera, Crowdstrike, Deliveroo, DJI, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Funding Circle, Kayak, Kry, QlikTech, Rovio, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, UiPath and WorldRemit are among the companies the firm has backed over the past 35+ years. The firm seeks to understand entrepreneurs as individuals, appreciate their originality and play to their strengths. Because greatness doesn’t have a stereotype. For more, visit www.accel.com, www.facebook.com/accel or www.twitter.com/accel.  

About Lightspeed Venture Partners:

Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise and Consumer sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 350+ companies globally, including Snap, Nest, Nutanix, AppDynamics, MuleSoft, OYO, Guardant, StitchFix, and GrubHub. Lightspeed and its affiliates currently manage $7.9B across the global Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in Silicon Valley, Israel, India, China, and Europe. www.lsvp.com   

About Lars Dalgaard:

Lars Dalgaard is founder and former Chief Executive Officer of SuccessFactors. After founding SuccessFactors during the dot-com bubble in 2001, he took it public on NASDAQ in November 2007, and SAP subsequently acquired the company for $3.6 billion in December 2011, making it one of the biggest SaaS transactions at the time. Following the acquisition, Lars joined SAP’s board of directors and led the company’s cloud business. Lars helped author the firm’s M&A strategy, which has since resulted in more than 20 acquisitions by SAP valued at over $30 billion. Lars is also a board partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he was previously a general partner for five years. Most recently Lars founded the venture capital firm Luv Ventures, which invests in early stage enterprise software and computational biology companies.

Press contact:

Personio GmbH Kathrin Kirchler Senior PR Manager Tel: + (0) 49 159 0616 8883 E-Mail: press@personio.de 

Firstlight PR Aylin Nazlican/ Chantal Swainston Tel: + (0) 44 20 3617 7240 E-Mail: personioteam@firstlightpr.com