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Deel has Acquired PaySpace for $100 Million
Deel has acquired PaySpace for $100 million, and it’s a big deal that’s shaking up the global payroll world. Deel, that $12 billion powerhouse you can check out at Deel, just snapped up PaySpace, a South African HR-tech standout, in this massive $100 million move. Deel acquires PaySpace, blending their huge client base of over 25,000 with PaySpace’s solid 14,000-plus customers—think big names like Heineken and Coca-Cola. The real game-changer here? Deel now gets its hands on PaySpace’s 45 custom-built payroll engines, which handle all the tricky local rules in 44 countries. Mixing in that tech means Deel can run payroll smoothly in more than 70 countries right now, with plans to hit 100 using those native engines by 2028.
For folks in South Africa, this feels like a huge win. PaySpace built itself up over 20 years purely through organic growth, hitting 30% year-on-year without chasing big venture capital bucks. Deel has acquired PaySpace for $100 million, spotlighting how African tech outfits are stepping onto the world stage with rock-solid, enterprise-level solutions. It even makes Deel the first Employer of Record with a true global payroll calculator, and it puts Africa right in the heart of global tech action.
Deel has really made its mark as a $12 billion global payroll giant. By March 2024, they’d smashed through $500 million in annual recurring revenue, and come the first quarter of 2025, they were on a $1 billion run rate with a whopping 75% growth from the year before. That’s Deel for you, pushing hard to own the whole HR world, from Employer of Record setups and contractor handling to payroll, compliance, and even performance tools. What makes them stand out is how they insist on building their own tech instead of leaning on outsiders. Before Deel acquired PaySpace, they were already using PaySpace’s stuff for payroll in 10 countries, so this just locks in that control and sets them up to scale big time.
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PaySpace, meanwhile, has been killing it in African and Middle Eastern HR-tech for over 20 years. They’ve got more than 14,000 customers spread across 44 countries, serving giants like Heineken, Coca-Cola, and Puma Sports. The secret sauce is those 45 proprietary payroll engines they spent 15 years crafting to nail down complex taxes and rules everywhere they operate. Unlike those clunky old systems pieced together from random vendors, PaySpace went cloud-native from day one, making it easy to tweak for local needs and grow fast. And get this, they did it all organically, with sales jumping over 30% each year, no big VC cash required. Clyde van Wyk, one of their directors, put it perfectly: “We set out to modernize the payroll industry, which was burdened by manual processes and stringent legislative and compliance requirements, much like Deel revolutionized global hiring.”
These days, HR-tech is all about companies teaming up or buying each other out to create one-stop shops that work everywhere. Back in the day, global payroll meant juggling a mess of local providers and outdated software, leading to mistakes, delayed paychecks, and compliance nightmares. Deel’s CEO Alex Bouaziz nailed it: “The payroll industry wasn’t built global-first. Over time, companies acquired local engines and patched systems together, causing errors and delays.” Building those engines from the ground up takes forever, PaySpace needed 15 years for its 45. So snapping up pros like PaySpace lets giants like Deel expand fast and grab that local know-how. Deel acquires PaySpace to own native tech outright, giving better control, real-time math that aggregators can’t touch, and plans for native engines in 100 countries in just four years.
The whole thing kicked off on March 5, 2024, when Deel announced they’d acquired PaySpace, their biggest buy ever, for about $100 million, though details stayed quiet at first. PaySpace slots in as a Deel subsidiary, with their team sticking around to keep those 14,000-plus customers happy. Deel was already at $500 million ARR and using PaySpace for 10 countries’ payroll, so this was them gearing up for full-stack control. Why go for it? Deel wanted its own payroll backbone, ditching third-party reliance for a seamless global setup. Deel has acquired PaySpace for $100 million, jumping their native engines from 5 to over 50, paving the way for 100-country coverage in four years. Plus, PaySpace’s blue-chip clients like Heineken, Coca-Cola Beverages, and Puma Sports pull Deel into big enterprise territory beyond startups. Now, real-time gross-to-net calcs cut out the errors and waits from patchwork models.
PaySpace’s customers get a boost too, smoother service and more options, while staying independent under Deel with the same leaders and crew. Their tech became Deel’s go-to engine, making Deel the pioneer EOR with a multi-country payroll calculator. Expect faster runs, live updates, and Deel’s full suite like onboarding, immigration help, and people management. Alex Bouaziz said it best: “The acquisition of PaySpace is a game changer for our customers, giving them truly global coverage and faster, more flexible payroll for their teams.”
Fast-forward to October 2025, and PaySpace rebranded to “Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace.” They keep running as a separate subsidiary for their now 15,000-plus customers, holding onto that 20-year expertise while plugging into Deel’s worldwide machine. Bruce van Wyk, the CEO there, sees it as a win: “The rebranding from PaySpace to Deel Local Payroll allows for deeper integration with Deel, positioning us for continued success and growth. It’s a positive move, building on the strong foundation we’ve already established.” This sets up killer payroll and HR upgrades.
PaySpace’s engine now exclusively drives Deel’s EOR and Global Payroll products, delivering instant gross-to-net figures and quicker cycles. It keeps perks like auto-legislative updates and the “Pacey” WhatsApp self-service bot for employees. By October 2025, Deel localized EOR and GP in places like the UK, South Africa, Canada, and UAE for real-time enterprise calcs. Bouaziz raved: “Our internal team was dying to acquire them and have the ability to do on-the-spot calculations. Theirs is one of the best technologies we’ve ever seen.” Deel has acquired PaySpace, supercharging their global payroll game.
Deel now handles in-house payroll in over 70 countries, first EOR with a true multi-country calculator, thanks to PaySpace’s cloud setup speeding new market entries. With 150+ entities, local HR/legal teams, and native engines across six continents, they’ve built a full HR empire. At acquisition time, $500 million ARR fueled their push to 100 countries in four years. Deel acquires PaySpace for $100 million, cementing their lead and proving the deal’s power.
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This puts South Africa squarely on the global tech map. PaySpace’s path to a $100 million exit shows what homegrown startups can do, with 14,000 customers in 44 countries on a VC-light model. It lifts the whole local scene and earns worldwide nods for African ingenuity. Now, as Deel’s exclusive engine for 50+ countries on a $12 billion platform, those 45 engines power payroll for Heineken, Coca-Cola Beverages, Puma Sports, and more, making South Africa a payroll tech hub.
Deals like this draw eyes (and cash) to African tech. When globals like Deel bake in African startups core-wide, it screams quality and readiness. The payout lets founders recycle into new ideas, sparking more growth. It’s shifting views, with South Africa and Africa as must-watch tech forces.
PaySpace fits a hot streak of African tech wins. BioNTech grabbed Tunisia’s InstaDeep for up to £562 million in January 2023. Medius took Tunisian Expensya for over $100 million in June 2023. Stripe bought Nigeria’s Paystack for $200 million-plus in 2020. These aren’t just seed bets, they’re buys of mature, full solutions, proving Africa’s tech scene is hitting big-league valuations.
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