One year after launch, after growing faster than the founders initially expected, Jet HR – the startup founded by Marco Ogliengo and Francesco Scalambrino to eliminate the bureaucracy surrounding payroll, HR and generally running a company in Italy – attracts a seed round of €12 million, “bringing total funding to €16.7 million.”
In addition to the speed of execution and the amount, the deal also “stands out for the quality of the investors.”
Lead investor is the international venture capital firm Picus Capital, which, “having invested in other companies in the same industry, many of which are now unicorns, contributes to Jet HR both capital and know-how and networking.”
Robin Godenrath, Founding Partner & Managing Director of Picus Capital, explained that Italy’s complex payroll regulations and antique way of customer interaction provide the ideal basis for JetHR’s digital approach. He said they see exceptional potential for AI-powered automation to transform the Italian €4 billion payroll market.
Existing investors Exor Ventures (a key player “in the Italian innovation ecosystem), Italian Founders Fund (IFF, the first Italian VC fund created to bring the experience of already established founders in digital to the businesses of tomorrow) and 2100 Ventures are participating in the round by increasing their stake: a strong signal of commitment.”
Also investing further are names highly relevant “to the industry and Jet HR’s goal: such as Diego Piacentini, who after a leadership roles at Apple and Amazon became government Commissioner for Italy’s Digital Agenda; David Clarke, former CTO of the world’s largest HR company, Workday; Tony Jamous, founder of Oyster HR (unicorn in the global payroll space); and Felix Blossier, founder of the French accounting unicorn Pennylane.”
Jet HR’s cap table also includes some of Italy’s “most successful tech entrepreneurs – who invested directly or through IFF – as well as some of the largest industrial families such as Benetton, Berlusconi and Moratti.”
Jet HR responds to the frustration “of companies in the clash with bureaucracy. It offers a tech platform coupled with expert, authorized Payroll Advisors. Not only does Jet HR automate payroll (the processing of payroll, hiring and related matters), but it allows for rapid handling of adjacent administrative tasks.”
Hundreds of satisfied customers appreciate “the sudden clarity on payroll costs, the ease of building valid contracts and hiring employees, the elimination of paper from expense reports and contracts, and the monetary savings due to the automatic application of tax breaks.”
These are the main elements behind the success “of this model, and what convinced so many innovators to invest in the record pre-seed round in June 2023.”
The market’s strong demand for easier, efficient “solutions to the many complexities of employee management is apparent after just 12 months of operation: more than 300 client companies-including traditional SMEs, start-ups, multinationals and even publicly traded companies like HelloFresh and Octopus Energy.”
The fundraise will be employed in growing the team, which now “numbers 70 employees, mostly going into R&D.”
Upcoming features include contractor management, “allowing companies to quickly pay contractors alongside employees, and have a complete picture of the total workforce and related costs.”
