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§ Private Profile · London, United Kingdom
Pento is a technology company.
Pento provides an automated, cloud-based payroll solution specifically designed for UK businesses. The platform streamlines the entire payroll cycle, encompassing calculations, payments, and compliance with regulatory requirements. It leverages real-time automation and robust integrations with existing HR and accounting systems, significantly reducing the manual effort and time typically associated with payroll processing.
The company was founded in 2016 by Jonas Bøgh Larsen and Emil Hagbarth Rasmussen, who served as CEO and CTO, respectively. Their initial insight stemmed from personal experiences with the inefficiencies and administrative burdens prevalent in traditional payroll methods. This led them to develop a system engineered to remove common payroll pain points and deadlines.
Pento serves human resources, finance, and people teams within UK organizations looking to simplify complex payroll operations. The company's vision centers on delivering a reliable, error-free payroll experience that transforms a historically time-consuming task into a swift, efficient process. Pento aims to empower businesses with accuracy and compliance, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative overhead.
Pento has raised $53.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Pento.
Pento was founded in 2016 by Jonas Bøgh Larsen (Co-Founder and CEO) and Emil Hagbarth Rasmussen (Co-Founder and CTO).
Pento has raised $53.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Pento.
Pento is a UK-based SaaS startup founded in 2016 that builds a cloud-based payroll automation platform, enabling companies to handle payroll calculations, employee payments, and tax compliance in minutes rather than days.[1][2][4] It serves businesses seeking to eliminate manual payroll burdens, particularly in HR and finance, solving the problem of time-consuming, error-prone processes that lead to burnout and inefficiencies.[2][4] Pento has shown strong growth momentum, raising $35 million in venture funding, over $54 million total by mid-2023 including a $15.6 million Series A led by General Catalyst, and operates as a remote-first company with employees across 13 countries.[1][2]
Headquartered in London with roots in Copenhagen and Warwick, Pento targets B2B clients in SaaS and HR tech, offering an easy-to-use platform for complete payroll automation.[1][2][4] Its remote workforce spans Europe and beyond, and it partners with platforms like Remote for global hiring and compliance.[2]
Pento was co-founded in 2016 (with some sources noting 2017) by Jonas Bøgh Larsen (CEO) and Emil Hagbarth Rasmussen (CTO), both bringing tech expertise to address payroll inefficiencies they observed in businesses.[1][4] The idea emerged from recognizing how payroll remained manually intensive and outdated despite digital advances elsewhere, trapping companies in repetitive cycles.[2][4] Early traction came via seed investors like Futuristic.vc, Preseed Ventures, Jens Sørensen (ex-E-conomic CTO), and Morten Wulff (GameAnalytics founder), fueling its launch as a Copenhagen-based platform before expanding to the UK.[1]
Pivotal moments include a $15.6 million Series A in 2022 from General Catalyst, Avid Ventures, LocalGlobe, and others, followed by $35 million more and a Series B pushing total funding past $54 million by mid-2023, enabling global scaling as a remote-first operation.[1][2]
(Note: A separate entity at pento.ai focuses on AI services for data transformation, but query context aligns with the payroll firm at pento.io.)[3]
Pento rides the remote work and HR tech wave, capitalizing on post-pandemic shifts where distributed teams demand seamless global payroll amid talent shortages.[2] Timing is ideal as regulatory complexity in multi-country hiring grows, with market forces like labor law variations and admin burnout favoring automated SaaS solutions over legacy systems.[1][2] It influences the ecosystem by partnering with EOR platforms like Remote, enabling startups to scale internationally without HR friction, and contributes to payroll digitization in underserved European markets.[2]
Pento is poised to dominate automated payroll as AI enhancements and regulatory pressures accelerate adoption, potentially expanding into adjacent HR tools like onboarding and compliance analytics. Trends like further remote globalization and real-time pay will shape its path, evolving its influence from UK/EU specialist to global leader—building on its $54M+ funding to capture share in a fragmented market. This positions Pento as a foundational player automating the "essential yet archaic" payroll experience it set out to transform.[2][4]
Pento has raised $53.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $35.0M Series B in December 2021.
Pento was founded in 2016 by Jonas Bøgh Larsen (Co-Founder and CEO) and Emil Hagbarth Rasmussen (Co-Founder and CTO).
Pento has raised $53.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Pento's investors include Avid Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Bond, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Nazca Ventures, QED Investors, Wollef Ventures, Cornelius Boersch, Justin Mateen, Manolo Atala, Saul Klein.
