Tencent co-leads $120M round of UK SaaS-based employment firm Omnipresent

Chinese technology firm Tencent and European growth investor Kinnevik have co-led a $120 million investment in United Kingdom-based software as a service employment firm Omnipresent.

Omnipresent said in a statement on Tuesday Uncorrelated Ventures, a San Francisco-based investor, also participated the round, rounding out an investor list from Asia, Europe, and America.

The latest funding includes a pre-Series B round in the second half of 2021 and follows seed and Series A rounds in April 2020 and December 2020.

Proceeds from the current investment will be used to help build out Omnipresent’s new products and services, customer growth, and geographic expansion. The company will also add several hundred new members to its diverse, distributed team, who work remotely from around the world.

Omnipresent is building a range of complex products that require investment in engineering and subject matter expertise across many jurisdictions. Therefore, the company will focus its recruitment drive on tech talent to accelerate and streamline product expansion.

“The world is seeing a tectonic shift in the way businesses work and hire: from local-first to global- and remote-first. Omnipresent is catalyzing and accelerating this change. Every day, we see companies gaining from a global pool of the best talent, and employees benefiting from new access to career opportunities worldwide – regardless of where they live,” said Matthew Wilson, Omnipresent Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer.

‍As a global employment partner, Omnipresent provides a client-focused, end-to-end service to support and guide businesses hiring talent globally. Its proprietary digital platform and SaaS product, the OmniPlatform, can manage employee onboarding through to offboarding in more than 160 countries and regions worldwide, handling compliance, payroll, expenses, benefits, and more. A fully remote company with no corporate headquarters, the company has grown from a team of two to more than 230 people distributed throughout 40+ countries worldwide since 2019.

Omnipresent’s approach is to act as the legal employer on behalf of its clients in every country. Its easy-to-use, tech-enabled platform allows companies to onboard new hires compliantly worldwide, providing them with local contracts, tax contributions, and competitive benefits, such as health insurance, pensions, and paid leave.

During 2021, the two-year-old company saw its team grow by 10 times and revenue grow by 25 times. This year, the fully remote company plans to hire several hundred more people to meet demand for its global employment platform.

“At a time when companies need to secure the best talent, they’re looking to benefit from the quality and diversity of a global workforce. But there are challenges to operating globally, from dealing with local labor laws to payroll taxes and employee benefits. Omnipresent helps solve these complexities and acts as a partner to help companies go global-first. We are here to provide the expertise, support, and guidance they need to be able to hire international talent located anywhere in the world,” said Guenther Eisinger, Omnipresent Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer.

“Employers are no longer relying on their local area for the talent they need to grow their businesses. It’s critical they have the best personnel in place to get that competitive advantage required for success. Our platform allows clients to tap into our local employment expertise for stress-free, efficient, and streamlined management of their global teams,” he added.

According to the statement, Tencent and Kinnevik believe the future of work is global, and to win, businesses need to stay ahead of the curve. Omnipresent’s global employment solutions equip companies with the tools they need to take advantage of these emerging trends and operate internationally.

“Where Omnipresent sets itself apart is its expert understanding of local differences in a globalized world. We have seen the benefits of its platform first-hand; companies are scaling their operations into new markets in ways they simply couldn’t achieve without Omnipresent’s support. The business model is differentiated, and we believe the team they’ve built is uniquely strong and can deliver on the vast market opportunity. We are very excited to partner with them in this next phase of their journey as they continue to scale and forge ahead globally,” said Ola Nordbye, Investment Director at Kinnevik.

Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Its shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B. The company which aims to be Europe’s leading listed growth investor, backs the digital companies. it has a strong and expanding portfolio in healthtech, consumer services, foodtech and fintech.

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