According to EU-Startups, London-based employee benefits platform Ben has raised €23.6 million (£20.8 million) in a funding round led by Mercia Ventures. The round included participation from existing investors Atomico, Cherry Ventures, DN Capital, and Seedcamp, plus new backing from Revolut founder Nik Storonsky’s QuantumLight Capital. This follows a €15.6 million Series A in 2022, and the company claims its revenue has grown more than tenfold since that last raise. Ben’s platform uses AI to help global enterprises like Deliveroo, Zalando, and Mondelez manage benefits, which can account for 10-30% of payroll. The company now serves clients in Europe and North America, supporting employees in over 140 countries.
The HR Tech Gold Rush Is Real
Look, the context here is pretty clear. There’s a ton of investor money flowing into “AI-native” HR and workforce tools right now. The article itself points to a bunch of smaller rounds for companies like Zelt, Orbio, and Skillvue, adding up to about €19 million. Ben’s raise, at nearly €24 million, dwarfs those. It seems like VCs are desperately looking for platforms that can be the central “system of record” for the messy, fragmented world of people operations. And benefits administration, sitting between HR, payroll, and a zillion external providers, is arguably one of the messiest parts. So the thesis makes sense. But here’s the thing: everyone and their brother is now an “AI-native” HR platform. That term is losing meaning fast.
Skepticism On The Long Game
I don’t doubt that global benefits are a nightmare. The founders, Sebastian Fallert and David Duckworth, seem to have legitimately identified a painful problem. But building a “single ecosystem” that unites employers, brokers, and providers sounds like a classic, brutally difficult middleware play. You’re trying to be the glue between systems that often don’t want to be glued, or that have their own competing platforms. The promise of AI automating admin is great, but a lot of that work is about interpreting vague policy rules and local regulations—areas where AI can still spectacularly faceplant. The risk is that Ben becomes another layer of complexity, not the simplification it promises.
Winning Against The Incumbents?
Jonathan Kruger from Mercia Ventures said Ben is “growing fast and winning against the big incumbents.” That’s a bold claim. Who are the incumbents? We’re talking about the massive legacy HRIS providers and the big consulting/benefits brokerages. Displacing those relationships in large enterprises is a multi-year, high-touch slog. Ben’s customer list (Deliveroo, Zalando, Trainline) is impressive, but it’s also a list of modern, tech-savvy companies. The real test will be if they can crack more traditional Fortune 500-style firms. The funding will help with that go-to-market push, for sure. But scaling in North America, with its uniquely byzantine benefits landscape, is a whole different beast compared to Europe.
So What’s The Verdict?
This is a serious round with serious backers. Having Atomico and now QuantumLight Capital involved is a strong signal. The problem is enormous, and if Ben can truly become that central, intelligent hub, the upside is huge. But basically, they’ve taken the capital to fight a two-front war: one against legacy systems and inertia, and another against a swarm of well-funded, AI-hyped startups all attacking adjacent pieces of the HR tech stack. The tenfold revenue growth since 2022 is the most compelling fact in their favor. Now they have to prove that growth isn’t just a post-pandemic blip but a sustainable trajectory toward becoming that “ultimate platform.” It’s a bet worth watching, but I’m keeping my skepticism handy.
