Justworks is looking to its future after closing a $50 million Series E investment.
"We're really excited about this. We had our pick of investors to bring in the capital from, and it's really important to us to surround the company with great people," Isaac Oates, founder and CEO of Justworks, told Cheddar Tuesday. "In terms of what we're focused on, it's really just continuing to expand our operational sophistication and our ability to serve more and more different types of customers."
The new investment is led by Union Square Ventures and FirstMark Capital, and it brings Justworks' total funding to $143 million.
Oates said there are about 85,000 people on the platform, which organizes and provides access to company benefits, payroll, HR tools, and more for small and medium-sized businesses.
Almost all revenue comes from subscription fees paid per employee per month. Oates said the company is currently at about $105 million annual revenue, and continuing to grow. He added the upcoming fiscal year will focus on generating cash.
As for whether Justworks will go after bigger businesses, Oates said the platform is keeping things small.
"While it's impossible to say forever, we are absolutely focused for the foreseeable future on small and medium businesses," Oates said. "We are passionate about them and we just want to make sure we're serving them the best we can."
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
