This Employment Hero company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Employment Hero works in HR technology, with a focus on HR, payroll and employment platform for SMEs. It was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Its latest valuation on record is Just under A$2 billion (October 2023). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
More than A$300 million ARR, growing above 30% — ARR (company-reported), as of February 2026. Source: Employment Hero.
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | More than 350,000 businesses, 2.5 million employees managed and over A$120 billion in annual payments | February 2026 | Employment Hero |
| Shareholder change | SEEK Growth Fund launched a process to sell its stake | February 2026 | Employment Hero |
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | Series F | A$263M | Just under A$2B | TCV (lead) | Employment Hero |
| 2021 | Series E | A$140M | About A$800M | See source | Employment Hero |
Employment Hero timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2014 — Employment Hero is founded in Sydney by Ben Thompson (CEO) and co-founders.
- 2021 — Series E: A$140M, valuing the company at About A$800M.
- Oct 2023 — Series F: A$263M, valuing the company at Just under A$2B. Investors: TCV (lead).
- February 2026 — Scale: More than 350,000 businesses, 2.5 million employees managed and over A$120 billion in annual payments.
- February 2026 — Shareholder change: SEEK Growth Fund launched a process to sell its stake.
Investors
Overview
Employment Hero is an Australian software company that gives small and medium-sized businesses one platform for hiring, HR, payroll, rostering and employee benefits. A business can advertise a job, onboard the new hire with digital contracts, pay them correctly under complex local award rules, manage leave and performance, and offer benefits such as discounts and earned wage access, all in one system. It also runs EH Work, an app employees use to manage their careers, pay and finances.
Ben Thompson co-founded Employment Hero in Sydney in 2014 and is its CEO. Thompson had previously founded other businesses and experienced how hard it was for small companies to handle employment administration. The company has expanded from Australia and New Zealand to the UK, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia, and describes itself as an AI-powered "employment operating system".
Products
- HR: onboarding, contracts, policies, leave, performance and compliance.
- Payroll: payroll processing designed for Australia's complex awards system and other countries' rules.
- Recruitment: job ads, applicant tracking and AI recruitment tools that draw on its large base of employee profiles.
- Employer of record (HeroForce): hiring staff in other countries without setting up local entities.
- Benefits and EH Work: employee discounts, earned wage access and a career app for workers.
- AI agents: tools that automate HR, payroll and recruitment tasks.
Business model
Employment Hero sells subscriptions priced per employee, with tiers for different feature sets. Payroll and HR are sticky products: once a business runs payroll through a platform, switching is disruptive. Additional revenue comes from recruitment, employer-of-record services, benefits partnerships and payments.
Growth
In February 2026, Employment Hero said it had passed A$300 million in annual recurring revenue, growing at more than 30% with expanding margins. It serves more than 350,000 businesses, manages over 2.5 million employees and facilitates more than A$120 billion in annual payments. Earlier, it had announced passing A$250 million in ARR and reaching profitability.
Funding
- 2021, Series E: A$140 million, tripling its valuation to about A$800 million in six months.
- October 2023, Series F: A$263 million led by TCV, which the company said put its valuation just shy of A$2 billion.
Its backers include SEEK, the Australian jobs marketplace, which has invested since 2017, as well as Insight Partners, OneVentures and AirTree Ventures. In February 2026 SEEK's growth fund launched a process to sell its stake, which could bring in new investors and set a fresh valuation. We use the Series F valuation as the latest confirmed figure.
Competition
Employment Hero competes with Australian payroll and HR providers such as Xero's payroll features, MYOB, KeyPay (which it acquired in 2022 and integrated), Deputy and Rippling-style platforms entering the region; in the UK with BrightHR, Sage and others; and globally with Deel, Rippling and Gusto in their respective markets. Its advantages are its all-in-one platform for small businesses, its strong position in Australia and its ability to handle complex local payroll rules.
Employment Hero at a glance
Employment Hero is a Sydney HR and payroll platform co-founded in 2014 by Ben Thompson. It passed A$300 million in ARR in February 2026, serving more than 350,000 businesses and 2.5 million employees. It raised A$263 million in an October 2023 Series F led by TCV at a valuation just under A$2 billion, and its long-time investor SEEK began selling its stake in 2026.
Why Australian payroll is hard
Australia's employment system includes more than 100 "modern awards" that set minimum pay rates, penalty rates, allowances and overtime rules for different industries and roles, plus enterprise agreements and superannuation contributions. Getting payroll right is complex, and mistakes can result in underpayment claims, back-pay and reputational damage; several well-known Australian companies have faced underpayment scandals. Software that interprets awards correctly and keeps up with changes is valuable to small businesses that can't afford dedicated payroll specialists. That complexity has helped local specialists like Employment Hero compete against global platforms.
Employer of record and global hiring
Small companies increasingly hire people in other countries, especially for remote roles. Setting up a legal entity in each country is expensive, so employer-of-record services employ workers on a company's behalf. Employment Hero's HeroForce service competes in this market, using its payroll infrastructure across several countries.
Choosing an HR and payroll platform
- Does it handle your industry's awards or local employment rules correctly?
- Can it cover hiring, onboarding, payroll and benefits in one system?
- How does pricing scale with headcount?
- Does it support employees in other countries if you hire internationally?
The SEEK relationship
SEEK, the operator of Australia's leading job ads marketplace, invested in Employment Hero in 2017 and backed it through several rounds via its growth fund. The relationship made strategic sense: SEEK helps employers find candidates, and Employment Hero manages those employees once hired. In February 2026, SEEK's growth fund launched a process to sell its stake, with SEEK's leadership saying it was the appropriate time. A sale to a new investor, such as a large private equity firm or growth fund, would set a fresh valuation and could bring in a partner to support international expansion. It also signals that early backers see the company as mature enough to deliver a significant return.
Stake sales like this are common as venture-backed companies grow larger and stay private longer. They let early investors return money to their own funds without the company needing to go public.
Latest developments (October 2026)
Our October 2026 review found no new priced round for Employment Hero after its Series F, led by TCV, which the company said valued it at just under A$2 billion; that remains the latest sourced figure. The Sydney company continues to expand its HR, payroll and employee benefits platform in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore and Malaysia. See our largest Australian startups guide.
What to watch
Watch the outcome of SEEK's stake sale and any new valuation, international growth, AI product adoption and IPO plans.
Practical points
Small business owners can reduce payroll errors and admin with integrated platforms. Founders can learn from Employment Hero's expansion from a complex home market. Investors should watch whether the SEEK sale sets a valuation above the 2023 mark.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does Employment Hero do?
Employment Hero is a hr technology / hr, payroll and employment platform for smes company headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 2014.
What is Employment Hero's valuation?
Employment Hero was valued at Just under A$2 billion as of October 2023, according to Employment Hero. Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does Employment Hero make?
Employment Hero reported More than A$300 million ARR, growing above 30% (arr (company-reported)) as of February 2026, according to Employment Hero.
What was Employment Hero's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a series f in Oct 2023: A$263M, at a valuation of Just under A$2B. Source: Employment Hero.
Who are Employment Hero's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include TCV, SEEK, Insight Partners, OneVentures and AirTree Ventures.
Who founded Employment Hero?
Employment Hero was founded in 2014 by Ben Thompson (CEO) and co-founders.
Is Employment Hero a public company?
No. Employment Hero is a private company (private, venture backed), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is Employment Hero headquartered?
Employment Hero is headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.