Startups > Rippling

Rippling

Rippling unifies HR, IT, and finance on one employee data platform.

Series E $1.85B total Founded 2016 San Francisco, California 1894 employees

Rippling is a unified HR, IT, and finance platform built on a single employee data graph that automatically propagates changes across all connected business systems. It eliminates manual data entry and reduces security risks by serving as the single source of truth for employee information across payroll, benefits, SSO, IT management, bill pay, and corporate cards. The platform is designed for companies that want to streamline operations across traditionally disconnected systems with a modern, integrated approach rather than legacy point solutions.

Problem solved

Companies maintain duplicate employee data across disconnected HR, IT, payroll, benefits, and finance systems, creating manual work, data inconsistencies, and security risks whenever employee information changes.

Target customer

Mid-market to enterprise companies (100+ employees) and startups seeking an integrated alternative to point solutions; particularly strong with Series A-C SaaS and tech companies.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase Twitter / X

Founders

Parker Conrad

CEO

Serial entrepreneur who previously founded SigFig (portfolio management) and Zenefits (HR/payroll); left Zenefits in 2016 due to compliance issues.

Prasanna Sankar

Co-Founder & CTO (former)

Former Director of Engineering at Zenefits and co-founder of LikeALittle (social media); departed Rippling in 2021 to start crypto project 0xPPL.

Leigh Abdullah-Hucker

Co-Founder

Funding history

Seed $7M March 2017 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series A $45M Unknown Led by Kleiner Perkins · Initialized Capital, Threshold Ventures, Y Combinator

Series B $145M Unknown Led by Founders Fund · Unknown

Series C $250M Unknown Led by Sequoia Capital Global Equities and Global Growth · Greenoaks

Series D $250M Unknown Led by Bedrock, Kleiner Perkins · Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital

Series E $500M March 17, 2023 Led by Greenoaks · Unknown

Series F $200M April 2024 Led by Coatue · Unknown

Series G $450M May 9, 2025 Led by Unknown · 6 investors

Total raised: $1.85B

Industries

Human Resources Employment Information Technology IT Management Productivity Tools

Pricing

Quote-based, modular pricing. Base HRIS starts at $8 PEPM with $35/month minimum; typical core HR runs $21-29 PEPM; full deployments with payroll, benefits, IT, and spend management range $15-50+ PEPM depending on complexity.

Notable customers

Y Combinator, Cursor (Anysphere), Clay, Sierra, 15,000+ startups; 20,000+ total customers

Tech stack

React (JavaScript frameworks) core-js (JavaScript libraries) Next.js (Web servers) webpack Amplitude (Analytics) Node.js (Programming languages) Google Workspace (Email) Amazon Cloudfront (CDN) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Vercel (PaaS) Amazon Web Services (PaaS) AWS Certificate Manager (SSL/TLS certificate authorities) Optimizely (A/B testing)

Website

rippling.com/

Competitors

Gusto

Gusto is focused on payroll and benefits but lacks Rippling's unified IT management, custom workflows, advanced reporting, and scalability for enterprise.

ADP Run

ADP focuses on HR and payroll with legacy interfaces; Rippling offers integrated IT management, faster implementation (days vs. months), and modern UX.

Workday

Workday is primarily HR-focused with enterprise features but lacks integrated IT management and bill pay; Rippling implements faster and offers unified HR, IT, and finance.

BambooHR

BambooHR is a point solution for HR; Rippling provides integrated HR, IT, and finance on a single employee data platform.

Paycor

Paycor focuses on payroll and HR; Rippling uniquely unifies HR, IT management, and finance with automated data propagation.

Why this matters: Rippling has achieved a rare combination of critical scale ($1.85B raised, 20,000+ customers, $16.8B valuation) and vertical integration across traditionally fragmented categories (HR, IT, finance). The company's core insight—that employee data synchronization is the bottleneck for business operations—is resonating strongly with startups and enterprises alike, making it one of the fastest-growing HR/workplace platforms.

Best for: Mid-market to enterprise companies and fast-growing startups that need to manage employee data across multiple disconnected systems and want to eliminate manual work while reducing security risks.

Use cases

Automating employee offboarding

When an employee is terminated in Rippling, the system automatically revokes access to email, cloud apps, devices, removes from payroll, and cancels benefits. This eliminates the manual spreadsheet tracking and IT ticket queues that typically result in security gaps and forgotten access revocations.

Managing global payroll and compliance

A company with employees across multiple countries can maintain a single employee record in Rippling that automatically routes to the correct payroll processor, calculates correct tax withholdings, and generates compliant tax documents. Without this, finance teams spend hours manually updating each system when payroll changes.

Scaling IT operations without hiring IT staff

Startups can use Rippling's IT management features to automatically provision devices, manage SSO, enforce security policies, and track software licenses as they hire. This avoids needing a dedicated IT person to manually onboard each new hire.

Provisioning employees across tools on day one

When a new hire starts, Rippling automatically creates accounts in email, Slack, GitHub, cloud storage, and other connected tools. The employee gets productive immediately rather than waiting for IT tickets to be resolved.

Alternatives

Gusto Pick Gusto if you only need payroll and benefits for a smaller company (under 500 employees) and don't need integrated IT management or complex reporting.

Workday Pick Workday if you need the most mature enterprise HR platform with deep analytics and reporting, and you have IT staff to manage separate systems for IT management.

BambooHR Pick BambooHR if you want a focused, simple HR-only solution for smaller teams (under 200 employees) that doesn't require IT management or payroll integration.

FAQ

What does Rippling do? +

Rippling is a unified platform that centralizes employee data and automatically synchronizes changes across HR, IT, payroll, benefits, and finance systems. Instead of manually updating information in multiple disconnected tools, companies make one change in Rippling and it propagates everywhere, eliminating data inconsistencies and manual work.

How much does Rippling cost? +

Rippling uses modular, quote-based pricing starting at $8 per employee per month for HRIS with a $35/month base. Most companies pay $15-50+ per employee per month depending on which modules they use (payroll, benefits, IT management, bill pay, etc.). Contact sales for a custom quote.

What are alternatives to Rippling? +

Top alternatives include Gusto (smaller companies, payroll-focused), Workday (enterprise HR), BambooHR (HR-only, simple), ADP Run (payroll and HR), and Paycor (payroll and HR). Rippling's unique advantage is that it combines HR, IT, and finance in one unified platform.

Who uses Rippling? +

Rippling has 20,000+ customers including 15,000+ startups, Y Combinator, Cursor, Clay, Sierra, and other fast-growing tech companies. It's particularly popular with Series A-C companies and mid-market firms seeking an integrated alternative to point solutions.

How does Rippling compare to Gusto? +

Rippling offers a unified platform covering HR, IT, payroll, and finance; Gusto focuses on payroll and benefits. Rippling has better scalability, custom workflows, advanced reporting, and IT management features like device provisioning and SSO. Gusto is simpler and more affordable for smaller companies under 500 employees that don't need IT management.

Can Rippling integrate with other tools? +

Yes, Rippling connects to major HR, payroll, IT, and finance systems. The platform is designed to be the central hub that propagates employee data to all connected systems automatically.

How long does it take to implement Rippling? +

Rippling typically implements in days rather than the months required by legacy platforms like Workday or ADP, making it faster to deploy and see value.