Spanish HR startup Factorial receives US$120 million, with focus on Brazil

On Tuesday, October 11, the Spanish human resources management startup Factorial announced that it received a US$120 million investment led by the European venture capital fund Atomico and should have Brazil as the main destination of resources.

The contribution valued Factorial at US$1 billion, which makes it a unicorn – a market jargon to classify nascent technology-based companies that reach this market value.

Venture capital funds GIC, Tiger Global, CRV, K-Fund, and Creandum participated in the round.

The announcement comes at a sharp slowdown in new investments from large global venture capital funds, as rising interest rates in various geographies around the world to curb inflation have dampened appetite for fast-growth-based businesses.

In the case of Factorial, CEO and co-founder Jordi Romero says the investment partly reflects the consequences of the pandemic with the advent of remote work and the fiercer competition for some categories of professionals requiring companies to use more advanced people management tools.

Created in 2016 in Barcelona, Factorial sells process automation services such as recruitment, payroll, and productivity management for companies with an average of 100 to 200 employees.

Factorial itself has a team of 800 employees.

“Our service allows smaller companies to have people management tools similar to those used by large corporations, which can help them both gain productivity and better understand how to retain talent,” Romero told Reuters.

The company recently opened an office in São Paulo to coordinate operations in Brazil, which accounts for about 10% of its global portfolio of 7,000 clients.

Romero foresees a five-fold increase in the size of the Brazilian operation next year, which he says will become the group’s most important.

The company also has units in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, France, and Italy.

With information from Forbes

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