Startups > Remote

Remote

Remote helps companies globally hire and manage international employees compliantly.

Series C $506M total Founded 2019 San Francisco, California 1569 employees

Remote is a global Employer of Record (EOR) platform that enables companies to hire, manage, and pay employees across 70+ countries without establishing legal entities. The platform handles employment contracts, payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance through in-house operations rather than third-party networks. Remote serves mid-market to enterprise companies looking to build distributed teams while avoiding costly subsidiary setup and contractor misclassification risks.

Problem solved

Companies managing international workforces face complex tax implications, payroll distribution across countries, compliance challenges, and expensive legal entity setup costs—typically requiring 15%+ markups when using third-party hiring services.

Target customer

Mid-market to enterprise B2B SaaS and tech companies with distributed teams across multiple countries seeking compliant international hiring and payroll management.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase

Founders

Job van der Voort

Co-founder

Previously Vice President of Product at GitLab, bringing deep experience in scaling global distributed teams.

Marcelo Lebre

Co-founder

Previously Vice President of Engineering at Unbabel, experienced in building distributed engineering organizations.

Nicholas Macario

Co-founder

Funding history

Seed $11M April 2020 Led by Two Sigma Ventures, Index Ventures, General Catalyst · Liquid 2 Ventures, Remote First Capital, Inkef, 9Yards

Series A $35M November 2020 Led by Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital · Aaron Levie, Kevin Hartz, Julia Hartz, Zach Weinberg (angels)

Series B $150M July 2021 Led by Accel · Two Sigma Investments

Series C $300M April 2022 Led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 · Accel, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, General Catalyst, 9Yards, Adams Street Partners, Base Growth

Total raised: $506M

Industries

Human Resources Payments FinTech Recruiting

Pricing

$599 per employee per month for EOR services, $29 per contractor per month for Contractor Management. No platform, onboarding, or setup fees. Transparent tiered pricing with no upfront deposits.

Notable customers

GitLab, DoorDash, Loom, Paystack

Website

remote.com/

Competitors

Deel

Larger market presence with 15K+ customers and $679M total funding, but uses third-party contractor networks rather than owned legal entities, which can mean higher markups.

Oyster HR

Also offers global EOR and hiring in 180+ countries with recent $1B valuation, but Remote provides more integrated payroll infrastructure with 50+ dedicated payroll engines.

Rippling

Broader catch-all HR solution, but Remote is specifically optimized for global workforce compliance and payroll across 70+ countries with in-house operations.

Why this matters: Remote achieved unicorn status in 18 months (July 2021) and has raised $506M, making it one of the fastest-funded HR-tech startups. The company's model of owning legal entities globally rather than using contractor networks is a significant competitive advantage for compliance and cost control at scale.

Best for: Mid-to-large companies building distributed global teams who need compliant employment, payroll, and HR management without establishing subsidiaries in every country.

Use cases

International Expansion Without Subsidiaries

A Series B SaaS company wants to hire engineering talent in 5 countries but lacks legal entities in those regions. Remote handles all employment contracts, compliance, and payroll automatically, eliminating 6+ months of legal setup and saving $500K+ annually compared to establishing subsidiaries.

Contractor Misclassification Prevention

A growth-stage company uses contractors in 50+ countries but faces increasing compliance risk. Remote's Contractor Management Plus automates localized contract generation, onboarding, and record-keeping across 200+ countries to ensure proper classification and reduce legal exposure.

Unified Payroll and HR Across Borders

A multinational company has employees across 20 countries with fragmented payroll systems and manual HR processes. Remote consolidates hiring, payroll, benefits, and compliance into a single platform with 99.43% payroll accuracy across 50+ payroll engines.

Alternatives

Deel Choose Deel if you need maximum geographic coverage (150 countries) and prefer a contractor-first model with broader third-party integrations.

Oyster HR Choose Oyster if you want simplified onboarding UX and lighter compliance features for smaller distributed teams.

Rippling Choose Rippling if you need a comprehensive HR platform for US and international employees but are willing to manage more complexity for broader features.

FAQ

What does Remote do? +

Remote is a global Employer of Record platform that lets companies hire employees and contractors in 70+ countries without setting up legal subsidiaries. It handles employment contracts, payroll processing, tax compliance, and benefits administration through a single platform backed by Remote's own legal entities worldwide.

How much does Remote cost? +

Remote charges $599 per employee per month for EOR services and $29 per contractor per month for contractor management. There are no setup, onboarding, or platform fees. Global payroll pricing is available for companies with existing legal entities.

What are alternatives to Remote? +

Main alternatives include Deel (largest network, 150 countries, contractor-first model), Oyster HR (simplified UX, 180+ countries), and Rippling (broader HR platform with global capabilities but higher complexity).

Who uses Remote? +

Mid-to-enterprise B2B companies building distributed global teams, including GitLab, DoorDash, Loom, and Paystack. Typically used by Series B+ SaaS and tech companies with employees across multiple countries.

How does Remote compare to Deel? +

Remote owns all legal entities globally and operates 50+ proprietary payroll engines, ensuring no third-party markups and 99.43% payroll accuracy. Deel uses a contractor network model with broader geographic coverage but potentially higher costs per employee. Remote focuses on long-term employees; Deel is stronger for contractors.