Startup News: Shares of HR firm Rippling gain value as its business expands
Rippling, a Private Market Magnificent 7 company, is a software startup that has been gaining investor interest through its product offering and expansion.
San Francisco-based Rippling’s Forge Price™ was $50 as of August 26, 2024, which implies a company valuation of $15.34 billion, a 70% increase since the beginning of the year. The company’s implied valuation exceeds its latest post-money valuation of $13.5 billion based on a Series F funding round of $200 million in April, according to Forge Global.
It’s no small wonder that investors are taking notice of Rippling, which allows its corporate clients to onboard a new employee quickly and set up their payroll, health insurance, work computer, and third-party apps like Gmail and Microsoft Office. As the company puts it on its LinkedIn page, Rippling eliminates “the friction” of operating a company by combining human resources and other data on a unified platform.
Among Rippling’s principal venture backers since its founding in 2016 are Bedrock Capital, Coatue Management, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, Greenoaks Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Sequoia Capital.
According to an April article in TechCrunch, the market for payroll services and remote labor management is growing and has attracted several well-financed startups including Rippling and other privately held companies such as Gusto, Deel, and Remote.
In mid-August, tech news site The Information reported that Rippling is expanding to India. It’s the latest expansion for a company that claims it operates in more than 185 countries today. According to the news site, Rippling views India as an ideal market because many businesses there use remote workers from other countries and the company’s software is particularly helpful for managing far-flung workforces.
While many have wondered whether a public market debut is around the corner for Rippling, CEO Parker Conrad said in an April interview with TechCrunch that an IPO is still “a bit in the distance.” That helps explain why the $200 million Series F funding round in April also featured another $670 million worth of shares being sold by existing stockholders. This will allow Rippling employees to cash out some of their shares ahead of an IPO.
About the Author
John Kimelman is a veteran journalist who has worked at Barron’s and CNBC covering such topics as investing and commercial banking. Mr. Kimelman has received compensation from Forge Global, Inc. for authoring this article. Read more from John.