Deel hits $1 billion revenue run rate, sets sights on acquisitions and possible IPO

Payroll and HR technology firm Deel has reached a $1 billion annual revenue run rate as of the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant milestone for the six-year-old company. The privately held firm, which was co-founded in 2019 by Israeli Alex Bouaziz, also disclosed it has set aside as much as $500 million for acquisitions this year and is still aiming for a 2026 IPO, contingent on macroeconomic conditions.

Deel’s rise has coincided with sweeping changes in global labor markets. As distributed teams become a permanent fixture of post-pandemic work, demand has grown for tools that help companies manage international hiring, payroll compliance, and remote employee benefits. Deel says it now serves more than 35,000 customers and 1.25 million workers in over 150 countries, offering a product suite that spans payroll, HRIS, compliance, IT asset management, and benefits.

The company reported 75% year-on-year revenue growth through April 2025 and posted a 16% EBITDA margin in Q1, with co-founder and CEO Alex Bouaziz telling Reuters the company has been profitable since late 2023. Deel has not raised external capital since 2022 and is one of a shrinking cohort of high-growth startups that have prioritized profitability over rapid expansion in recent years.

Still, Deel is actively seeking ways to extend its reach. It completed the acquisition of Safeguard Global’s payroll division in March and has allocated between $200 million and $500 million for further M&A in 2025. Bouaziz acknowledged that maintaining the current pace of growth may be difficult, but added, “We are going to try our best.”

While the company has largely kept a low public profile, its success has not gone unnoticed, nor uncontested. Deel is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with rival Rippling, which filed a lawsuit in March alleging racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets, and unfair competition. Deel responded in April with its own defamation suit, accusing Rippling of waging a “multi-year smear campaign.”

Deel’s long-term strategy rests on a mix of owned infrastructure, a unified product experience, and an increasingly international customer base. High-profile clients now include Nike, Shopify, Klarna, and AI startup ElevenLabs. Unlike some competitors, Deel operates much of its own payroll backend, a decision that has allowed it to offer both bundled and unbundled services, including white-labeled products for third parties.

The company’s $1 billion milestone places it in rarefied territory among venture-backed startups, particularly in the HR and fintech space. While IPO ambitions remain on the table, Bouaziz emphasized they are not urgent. “It depends on market conditions,” he told Reuters.