Remote seeks to deepen foothold in US market with expansion

Remote, a platform that helps employers manage global workforces, first gained prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic as an employer of record (EOR) service. It’s now seeking to deepen its footprint in the US market, one of the company’s top revenue drivers, Job van der Voort, co-founder and CEO at Remote, told HR Brew.

US expansion. Remote launched in January 2019, shortly before the global shift to remote work prompted more HR teams to seek talent outside of the state or country where they’re based. Companies that didn’t have the infrastructure to hire talent internationally looked to EORs, which act as a legal entity employing workers on behalf of a business, overseeing payroll, taxes, and benefits. Remote announced a Series C fundraising round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in 2022, which resulted in $300 million worth of investments at a $3 billion valuation.

Up until now, the majority of Remote’s customers—which include software development firm Seaplane and media production company Shootsta—have been drawn to the company’s EOR services, according to van der Voort. But since most of the company’s business comes from the US, Remote decided to focus on developing additional products catered to employers hiring US-based employees.

Remote is now rolling out a “US expansion package” that consolidates a wider array of products for this customer base, including professional employer organization (PEO) services, state compliance information, and US payroll, the company announced March 14.

One-stop shop. With the expansion, “We want to offer everything you need to be able to function in the US,” van der Voort said. This includes not only the option of working with Remote as an EOR, but also as a PEO, a joint arrangement in which HR administration is outsourced to an entity that acts as a “co-employer.”

If a business decides to hire US employees directly rather than through an EOR or a PEO, Remote can still help with outsourcing HR-specific tasks, van der Voort said. Examples include payroll, benefits administration, and managing state-level compliance (e.g., automating registrations with state departments of labor and handling workers compensation agencies).

It’s becoming harder to find a remote job in the US, but demand for this type of employment is still high. Increasingly, US job-seekers are applying to international companies offering these opportunities, according to a recent report by Deel, one of Remote’s competitors.

Remote was initially hesitant to focus heavily on the US market, given it is “highly competitive,” van der Voort said. But as the company saw strong growth there relative to other countries, “it made sense for us to focus specifically here in the US.”