French fintech PayFit joins the unicorn club

French HR fintech PayFit has achieved unicorn status, after raising over £200m.

PayFit, founded in 2015, offers payroll and HR software services to small and medium sized firms.

Its Series E funding round of €254m (£216m) means it’s now valued at around £1.52bn, elevating its valuation to beyond £1bn and thus unicorn status.

The French fintech says it will use the funds to recruit 400 staff this year and speed up the development of new products.

PayFit has over 6,000 clients, around 80 per cent of which are based in France.

It has also expanded its operations beyond France into Germany, Spain and the UK.

General Atlantic led the round, with participating investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and Accel Ventures.

Prior to its latest funding round, PayFit  has raised around £150m to date.

PayFit says its technology means it automates  “complex and time-intensive HR processes”.

It adds: “PayFit’s proprietary technology platform enables HR managers, finance managers and business owners to easily conduct payroll calculations in markets with complex regulatory requirements, which is a key differentiator amidst the fast-growing HR technology market.”

Firmin Zocchetto, CEO and cofounder of PayFit, said: “PayFit’s expansion beyond France into the UK, Spain and Germany demonstrated further validation of our innovative offering and our capacity to scale up. 

“As we look ahead, we plan to use these new funds to deepen our presence in our existing markets, where we have significant growth potential. This Series E funding will allow us to maintain the rapid growth we have achieved since our founding.”