Buoyed on by the switch to online work, HR tech platform Remote has raised a $150m Series B round, making it the fifth unicorn to be founded in Portugal.
The round was led by Accel and included participation from Sequoia, Index Ventures, Two Sigma, General Catalyst and Day One Ventures. It follows Remote’s Series A in November last year, and brings the company’s total fundraising to $196m.
Other Portuguese unicorns include Feedzai, which uses AI to detect fraudulent payments; software companies Talkdesk and Outsystems; and online luxury fashion platform Farfetch. The country’s tech ecosystem boasts strong local engineering talent and high English proficiency — and more international investors are taking note.
Remote, which launched in early 2020, provides a platform to help companies hire and pay employees from anywhere in the world, covering international payroll, taxes and immigration services.
As the pandemic has moved work online, companies like Remote, which help businesses to hire workers around the world, are gaining investor support. While no designated funds exist for future of work startups in Europe, most sector-agnostic or SaaS-focused VC funds have a future of work company in their portfolio.
Across the last year, Remote has seen its revenues increase by 65 times. It has also hired 170 people over that time period, bringing its headcount to 220.
Speaking to Sifted last year, Job van der Voort, cofounder of Remote, said he anticipates 40% of workers to continue in hybrid or fully remote roles after the pandemic ends.
“Remote work has become the norm for thousands of businesses,” he said.
“Work itself will move towards providing you with more freedom. The best employers will provide all of the necessities to do your best work — and that doesn’t mean a cushy office in a metropole. Equipment, freedom in your time and in your work, and generous benefits that make life easier.”
The company is operational in 50 countries and plans to expand to cover 80 by the end of 2022. It's now headquartered in San Francisco, but was founded in Portugal.