Latest news with #globalpayroll
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Deel eyes more acquisitions after hitting $1 billion annual revenue run rate
Payroll startup Deel said on Tuesday it crossed $1 billion annual revenue run rate in the first quarter and has earmarked up to $500 million for acquisitions this year to bolster growth. Customers use Deel's global payroll platform to manage their international workforce. Deel, which acquired Safeguard Global's payroll division for an undisclosed amount in March, allocated an M&A budget of between $200 million and $500 million this year, CEO Alex Bouaziz told Reuters. The San Francisco, California-based company is still aiming for a 2026 U.S. initial public offering, but it depends on macroeconomic conditions. Deel said its revenue rose 75 per cent for the twelve months ended April 30. It reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin of 16 per cent for the first quarter, ended March 31. Bouaziz said he does not know if the company will be able to keep growing at the same level, but "we are going to try our best." Founded in 2019, Deel provides services to help companies hire international employees and contractors while ensuring compliance with local labor laws. It also automates payroll processing for businesses operating across multiple countries. Deel — which has 6,500 employees and more than 35,000 customers including AI startup ElevenLabs, Nike, Klarna, and Shopify — competes with companies such as Rippling, Omnipresent and Automatic Data Processing. "We believe in the idea that typically, the service you get is tied to how much you are willing to pay ... Deel is a bit more premium than most companies," Bouaziz said. In March, rival Rippling filed a lawsuit against Deel alleging racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition, among others. Deel filed its own lawsuit for defamation in April, saying Rippling has been running a multi-year smear campaign against it. The company also believes the allegations by Rippling are driven by the fact that "Deel is winning in the market."
Zawya
12-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Mercans tech leaders share how they're transforming global payroll
From its regional headquarters in Dubai, Mercans is leading a fundamental shift in how global payroll is managed. Mercans is redefining global payroll from the ground up—leveraging AI, cloud-native technologies, and a stateless, unified architecture. As cross-border operations become more complex, Mercans is simplifying payroll for global enterprises through automation, compliance, and real-time capabilities. Headquartered regionally in Dubai, where its leadership frequently meets clients and drives innovation, Mercans is positioning itself at the intersection of global expansion and regional growth. In a recent leadership conversation, Eero Plato, Global Head of Engineering, and Andre Voolaid, Chief Technology Officer, offered a closer look at how the company is reshaping global payroll delivery with a future-proof technology stack. A Unified Platform Designed for a Global Workforce Operating in over 160 countries, Mercans' platform, HR Blizz, was built to standardize and accelerate payroll across borders. Unlike legacy systems that rely on fragmented country-specific tools, HR Blizz is architected on a single codebase that supports seamless integration with leading HCM platforms including SAP, Dayforce, and Workday. 'Rather than building 160 local solutions, we designed a platform that treats global payroll as one system—with localized rules applied as exceptions,' said Plato. 'It's a fundamental shift that allows for global consistency without sacrificing local compliance.' This approach eliminates the need for companies to stand up infrastructure in every market, accelerating their global expansion while maintaining compliance and control. The GCC and MENA: A Strategic Growth Engine Mercans' regional presence in Dubai, at the heart of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and broader MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, is playing a critical role in its global expansion. The MENA market is undergoing rapid digital transformation, with governments and enterprises seeking advanced payroll and workforce management solutions. 'The GCC is a high-growth region for us,' said Voolaid. 'From Dubai, we're able to serve both mature and emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa with speed, flexibility, and regional expertise.' Dubai's innovation-friendly environment and proximity to global talent pools make it an ideal location for Mercans to operate its regional HQ and engage with clients across sectors—from oil and gas to banking and technology. AI and Automation Are Reshaping Payroll At the heart of Mercans' platform is a powerful layer of AI and machine learning. The company is moving beyond traditional digitization by enabling real-time payroll calculations. Now, when employee data is updated, payroll is automatically recalculated on the spot. 'This dramatically simplifies payroll processes,' said Voolaid. 'It reduces delays, eliminates batch processing, and allows for predictive analytics to improve workforce decisions.' AI also plays a growing role in automated anomaly detection and compliance checks—freeing up HR teams from manual validations and enhancing overall accuracy. Compliance and Data Protection at Scale Mercans combines advanced technology with local expertise to address the complex landscape of global payroll compliance. Its in-country experts continuously monitor and update tax and labor regulations in over 100 jurisdictions, while the platform enforces end-to-end encryption and role-based access controls. 'Compliance is the foundation of everything we do,' said Voolaid. 'We've built local knowledge directly into the system, ensuring that our clients remain compliant with changing laws without added effort.' Scaling Through Cloud Innovation and Engineering Talent To support its international growth, Mercans has transitioned its infrastructure to a Kubernetes-powered, cloud-native environment. This flexible architecture supports both public and private cloud deployments, enabling rapid scaling without compromising security or performance. The company's ability to attract top engineering talent is also key to its innovation. 'Engineers want to work on meaningful, technically challenging problems,' noted Plato. 'Our architecture and mission attract those who want to make an impact at scale.' Looking Forward With its bold vision, a unified global platform, and an innovation hub in Dubai, Mercans is setting new standards in global payroll delivery. As it continues expanding across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, the company remains focused on helping businesses simplify, automate, and secure their payroll operations—one real-time calculation at a time. Bio - Mercans' Leadership Eero Plato Global Head of Engineering | Mercans Eero Plato leads the global engineering team at Mercans, where he's responsible for scaling the platforms that power compliant, automated payroll across 160+ countries. With a background spanning enterprise tech, systems resilience, and customer support, Eero brings a rare blend of technical depth and business empathy to his role. Whether he's building robust backend architecture or embedding compliance directly into the code, Eero ensures that every engineering decision delivers measurable impact for clients around the world. Driven by a passion for secure, scalable technology, and a leadership style grounded in clarity and collaboration, Eero is helping redefine what engineering excellence looks like in the global payroll space. Andre Voolaid Chief Technology Officer | Mercans With 10+ years at the helm of Mercans' tech evolution, Andre Voolaid is the architect behind the company's powerful native payroll engine and SaaS platforms. From small teams to global enterprises, Andre has helped shape scalable, AI-driven payroll technology used by organizations in 160+ countries. A founder at heart with hands-on experience in software engineering and product innovation, Andre brings together deep technical know-how and business vision to deliver solutions that are future-ready, secure, and human-centric. Based in Estonia, he's passionate about simplifying global complexity—one payroll at a time.
