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Rippling raises $450 million, plans $200 million employee

equity

repurchase

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Rippling fetches higher valuation amid tariffs uncertainty

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CEO: No immediate IPO plans, profitability needed first

By Krystal Hu

May 9 (Reuters) - HR software startup Rippling said on

Friday it raised $450 million in a Series G funding round,

valuing the company at $16.8 billion, as it expands its

workforce management products and focuses on growing revenue

globally over profitability.

Y Combinator, Elad Gil, Sands Capital, GIC and Goldman Sachs

Growth, along with other existing investors, participated in the

round. In addition to the primary financing, the San

Francisco-based startup also plans to repurchase up to $200

million of equity from current and former employees through a

tender offer.

Rippling's CEO Praker Conrad said the tender offer is likely

to be an annual event, joining a growing list of high-profile

private companies that don't want to go public yet but still

want to offer ways for employees and early investors to cash

out.

"I think the company would really need to be profitable

before we go public," Conrad said in an interview. "We don't

have any specific plans to go public. But I think we're at a

scale where we want to try to create liquidity opportunities for

employees and for investors."

This round, which values the company higher than its

previous valuation of $13.5 billion in early 2024, faced an

unexpected challenge due to its timing, as it was launched weeks

before President Trump's tariff announcement, which has caused

major volatility in the stock market. It also came amid ongoing

legal disputes with competitor Deel, in which Deel was accused

of corporate espionage.

Rippling, while not profitable, said it has well surpassed

$100 million in annual recurring revenue and now serves over

20,000 customers with its expanding suite of more than 20

products spanning HR, IT and finance management, and plans to

use the proceeds to invest in the core products.

"We're fortunate that we're still growing at a pretty fast

pace. For us, the trade-off is always like, well, we could be

profitable if we grew more slowly. And right now, the decision

is that we want to keep growing," said Conrad.

Founded in 2016, Rippling's platform integrates workforce

management services including payroll, benefits and corporate

card services. International expansion has been a key driver of

growth for the company amid increasing demand for HR solutions

that can manage distributed workforces across multiple

countries.

Rippling recently filed a lawsuit against Deel, alleging

corporate espionage and other improper business practices. A

former Rippling employee confessed to spying for Deel Inc,

according to an affidavit made public in an Irish court in

April.

The litigation has drawn attention to competitive practices

and raised questions about ethical standards in the tech

industry.