Gusto Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Gusto is valued at $9.5B as of May 2022, a 19.0x multiple on its last reported $500M revenue.
Last Gusto valuation
$9.5B
Series E · May 2022
Last Gusto funding round
$55M
Series E · May 2022
Gusto revenue
$500M
Series E · May 2022
Key investors in Gusto
General Catalyst
Kleiner Perkins
T. Rowe Price
CapitalG
Friends & Family Capital
Emergence Capital
About Gusto
Gusto is a Denver-headquartered SaaS company founded in 2011 specializing in human capital management for small and medium-sized businesses. The platform handles payroll processing across all 50 US states, plus the United Kingdom and Canada, alongside benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, and employee onboarding workflows. Gusto integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and banking systems to automate tax filings, compliance, and financial reporting for streamlined workforce management.
Founded
2011
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Subscription
Revenue
$500M (May 2022)
Valuation
$9.5B (May 2022)
Gusto Valuation
Gusto is currently valued at $9.5B, based on its Series E in May 2022.
The $55M round was led by Friends & Family Capital.
Gusto's valuation has grown 71x from $133M at its Series A in February 2014 to $9.5B in May 2022, across 7 priced rounds.
Gusto valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | Series E | $9.5B | 19.0x |
| Aug 2021 | Series E | $9.5B | - |
| Jul 2019 | Series D | $3.8B | 7.6x |
| Jul 2018 | Series C | $2B | 4.0x |
| Dec 2015 | Series B | $1B | 2.0x |
| Apr 2015 | Series B | $560M | - |
| Feb 2014 | Series A | $133M | - |
Gusto Revenue
Gusto's latest recorded revenue is $500M, as of its Series E in May 2022. At a $9.5B valuation, that implies a 19.0x revenue multiple.
Revenue moved from $500M in December 2015 to $500M in May 2022, while the revenue multiple moved from 2.0x to 19.0x.
Gusto revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | $500M | $9.5B | 19.0x | Series E |
| Jul 2019 | $500M | $3.8B | 7.6x | Series D |
| Jul 2018 | $500M | $2B | 4.0x | Series C |
| Dec 2015 | $500M | $1B | 2.0x | Series B |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Gusto Funding History
Gusto has raised a total of $740M across 7 funding rounds.
Gusto's first fundraising round was a $20M Series A in February 2014. The most recent completed round was a $55M Series E in May 2022.
Gusto funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | Series E | Friends & Family Capital (lead) | $55M | $9.5B | Gusto, founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a fintech SaaS company providing business and productivity software, including payroll, HR, and benefits management for small businesses. The company raised $55M in a Series E round on May 16, 2022, led by Friends & Family Capital, with a post-money valuation of $9.5B. This followed a prior Series E round in August 2021 raising $175M at the same $9.5B valuation, led by T. Rowe Price with participation from Sands Capital, Fidelity Management & Research, Durable Capital Partners, Generation Investment Management, Emerson Collective, Glynn Capital, and others including Friends & Family Capital. Gusto has cumulatively raised between $706M and $751.3M across 8 to 14 rounds, with earlier notable rounds including a $200M Series D in July 2019 at $3.8B valuation led by Fidelity and Generation Investment Management, a $140M-$145.2M Series C in July 2018 at $2.0B, and Series B rounds reaching $1.1B valuation. Investors span General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, Y Combinator, Dragoneer, 137 Ventures, and Emergence Capital. A later round in June 2025 raised $364.6M in Later Stage VC, contributing to a total funding of $751.3M and current valuation around $9.3B-$9.5B as of mid-2025. No specific revenue, ARR, or EBITDA metrics are detailed for the 2022 period using explicit terms like 'revenue' or 'ARR'; one source vaguely notes $500M-$1B revenue range without time specification or confirmation. Gusto has grown significantly, with valuation increases from $560M in 2015 Series B to over $9B, reflecting strong capital efficiency at 12.38x valuation-to-funding ratio. The company employs 1001-5000 people and ranks highly in global private valuations. |
| Aug 2021 | Series E | T. Rowe Price (lead) | $175M | $9.5B | Gusto is a San Francisco-based fintech company founded in 2011 (originally as ZenPayroll) that provides an integrated platform for payroll, benefits, and HR management tailored to small businesses. The company has raised over $746 million across multiple rounds from 121 investors including General Catalyst, Emergence Capital, Dragoneer, Kleiner Perkins, Y Combinator, and T. Rowe Price. In its Series E round on August 10, 2021, Gusto raised $175 million led by T. Rowe Price with participation from Fidelity Management & Research, Generation Investment Management, Sands Capital, Durable Capital Partners, and others, achieving a post-money valuation of $10 billion. The Series E funding supported Gusto's expansion in product development, particularly in fintech and healthcare, while growing its workforce beyond 1,000 employees across offices in San Francisco, Denver, and New York. Gusto serves over 1% of U.S. employers, focusing on equitable solutions for small business economic growth rather than a near-term IPO. A subsequent Series E extension of $55 million occurred in May 2022, also led by T. Rowe Price. Later events included a tender offer in June 2025 at $9.3 billion valuation for secondary liquidity and the acquisition of Guideline for around $600 million to bolster retirement services. Gusto operates in the competitive payroll and HR software market, bundling services like 401(k) administration amid growing state mandates for retirement plans, with its 401(k) ARR growing 50% year-over-year in 2024. |
| Jul 2019 | Series D | Fidelity (lead); Generation Investment Management (lead); General Catalyst; Dragoneer; T. Rowe Price | $200M | $3.8B | Gusto, formerly ZenPayroll, is a San Francisco-based cloud platform providing payroll, HR, benefits administration including health coverage and pensions, team management, and self-onboarding tools for small businesses. The company raised $200 million in its Series D funding round on July 23, 2019, led by Fidelity Management and Research and Generation Investment Management, with participation from Dragoneer Investment Group, General Catalyst, and T. Rowe Price Associates. This round doubled Gusto's valuation from $1.9 billion (post-Series C in 2018) to a post-money valuation of $3.8 billion. Gusto had over 100,000 customers and around 1,000 employees at the time, operating primarily in the US small business market previously underserved by enterprise-focused tech. The funding was earmarked for research and development, particularly in fintech features like early wage access for employees without impacting company cash flow, geographic expansion including a new R&D office in New York, and headcount growth. Gusto emerged from competition with players like Zenefits, expanding from payroll into insurance and benefits while maintaining momentum toward potential IPO, with CEO Josh Reeves stating going public was inevitable. Backers included prior investors like Alphabet's CapitalG from the $140 million Series C. Gusto continued raising capital post-2019, reaching over $746 million total funding, with later rounds like Series E in 2021 at around $10 billion valuation. |
| Jul 2018 | Series C | CapitalG (lead); Dragoneer (lead); T. Rowe Price (lead); Y Combinator (lead); General Catalyst; 137 Ventures; Friends & Family Capital; Kleiner Perkins; Rose Park Advisors; DFO Management; Emergence Capital; SWS Venture Capital | $140M | $2B | Gusto, formerly ZenPayroll, is a San Francisco-based payroll, benefits, and HR platform launched in 2012, targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with integrated solutions for payroll processing, health benefits, 401(k) plans, onboarding, and flexible payment options like Flexible Pay. The company simplifies HR tasks typically reserved for larger enterprises, requiring no user training, and had expanded to serve over 60,000 companies by mid-2018, processing tens of billions in payroll. In July 2018, Gusto closed a $140 million Series C funding round, bringing total funding to approximately $310 million and boosting its post-money valuation to $2 billion, nearly doubling from its prior $1 billion valuation in 2016. The round was led by CapitalG (Alphabet's growth fund), Dragoneer Investment Group, T. Rowe Price Associates, and Y Combinator Continuity Fund, with participation from existing investors including General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, 137 Ventures, Emergence Capital, MSD Capital, and others. Proceeds were earmarked for product development, such as ramping up Flexible Pay (allowing employees on-demand pay based on hours worked), international expansion, hiring (especially in engineering and New York tech talent), and enhancing fintech and healthcare offerings to help SMBs provide robust benefits. Gusto positioned itself for long-term growth in the cloud payroll market, projected to reach $10.3 billion by 2023, amid competition in SMB HR tech. By the following year, Gusto raised a $200 million Series D at $3.8 billion valuation, passing 100,000 customers across diverse industries. The company earned via monthly subscriptions scaling with business size and service usage. |
| Dec 2015 | Series B | CapitalG (lead); General Catalyst (lead); WME Ventures; Friends & Family Capital; Chang Corporation; Pear VC; Slow Ventures; Obvious Ventures; Felicis; Fifth Down Capital; Cota Capital; Wayne Chang | $90M | $1B | Gusto, formerly ZenPayroll, raised $50 million in late November 2015 from investors including Google Capital (now CapitalG), General Catalyst, Obvious Ventures, and others, at a $1 billion pre-money valuation. This followed a $60 million round in April 2015 at a $560 million post-money valuation. The funding supported expansion into HR and benefits tools, positioning Gusto to compete with Zenefits in payroll and related services for small businesses. At the time, Gusto was processing several billion dollars in annual payroll and had more than $50 million in cash reserves. Gusto had rebranded from ZenPayroll in September 2015 to broaden beyond payroll into a full HR platform, targeting small businesses nationwide through state-by-state expansion. The company emphasized high customer satisfaction to drive word-of-mouth growth among SMB owners. |
| Apr 2015 | Series B | CapitalG (lead); Emergence Capital (lead); General Catalyst (lead); GV (lead); Kleiner Perkins (lead); Ribbit Capital | $60M | $560M | Gusto, formerly known as ZenPayroll, is a payroll and human resources platform founded in 2011 that helps small business owners manage payroll, benefits, taxes, and employee administration. The company rebranded from ZenPayroll to Gusto in September 2015 and expanded its focus beyond payroll processing to include comprehensive HR and benefits solutions, positioning it to compete directly with Zenefits. In April 2015, Gusto completed a Series B funding round led by Google Capital (CapitalG), raising $60 million at a $560 million post-money valuation. The round included investors such as General Catalyst, Emergence Capital, Ribbit Capital, and KPCB. At the time of this funding, the company was processing several billion dollars in annual payroll and had added more than 275 employees throughout 2015. The company later closed an additional $50 million insider round in November 2015 from existing Series B investors, bringing its valuation to $1 billion and allowing investors to increase their positions due to significant oversubscription of the original Series B round. |
| Feb 2014 | Series A | General Catalyst (lead); Kleiner Perkins (lead) | $20M | $133M | Gusto, founded in 2011 as ZenPayroll, is a San Francisco-based company offering a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and human resources management platform targeted at small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, such as bakeries, law firms, restaurants, and dentist offices. The Series A round on February 19, 2014, raised $20 million led by General Catalyst Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, valuing the company at over $100 million post-money. This followed a $6.1 million seed round in 2012 backed by investors including Google Ventures, Salesforce, and angels like Aaron Levie and Drew Houston. At the time of the Series A, ZenPayroll was processing $400 million in annual payroll, up from $100 million the previous summer, driven primarily by word-of-mouth growth among small businesses. The company had over 25 employees and planned to double headcount, hire more engineers and product developers, and accelerate product expansion with the new capital. General Catalyst's Hemant Taneja joined the board, with Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr taking an advisory role. This round marked an early institutional investment for the Y Combinator-backed startup, which later rebranded to Gusto and raised subsequent rounds including a $50 million Series B-1 in 2015, $60 million Series B, $140 million Series C at $2 billion valuation in 2018, $200 million Series D at $3.8 billion in 2019, and larger later financings up to $9.5 billion valuation in 2021. Gusto has grown to over 1,000 employees and serves more than 60,000 customers. |
Who has invested in Gusto?
25 investors have backed Gusto across its funding rounds, including General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, T. Rowe Price, CapitalG, Friends & Family Capital and Emergence Capital.
Lead investors include Friends & Family Capital, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Generation Investment Management, CapitalG and 6 other investors.
Gusto Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 5 | Lead | Feb 2014 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Lead | Dec 2015 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Lead | Feb 2014 | |
| Baltimore, MD | 3 | Lead | Jul 2018 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Lead | Apr 2015 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Lead | Jul 2018 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Lead | Apr 2015 | |
| United States | 1 | Participant | Jul 2018 | |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Participant | Dec 2015 | |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Participant | Dec 2015 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Participant | Dec 2015 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Lead | Jul 2018 | |
| Boston, MA | 1 | Lead | Jul 2019 | |
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Gusto
Gusto has acquired 6 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Gusto was on April 8th 2026. Gusto acquired Mosey for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Gusto
| Description | San Francisco-headquartered Mosey automates employment and tax compliance for businesses operating in all 50 U.S. states and over 100 cities. The platform handles wage compliance, tax filings, benefits administration, and HR policies at reduced costs compared to traditional professional services. | Guideline is a San Francisco-headquartered 401(k) provider offering automated plan administration, enrollment, recordkeeping, investments, compliance, and reporting for small to mid-sized businesses. The service features flat per-participant fees instead of asset-based pricing. Guideline integrates payroll systems and delivers participant education through mobile apps and dashboards. | RemoteTeam is a San Francisco-headquartered provider of HR software launched in 2020. It automates payroll processing, tracks time off requests, and ensures compliance with labor regulations across multiple jurisdictions. The platform streamlines employee onboarding and performance management for distributed workforces. Serving startups and enterprises, it handles payments in various currencies and generates required tax documents. Integration with accounting systems like QuickBooks facilitates financial reporting. | Symmetry Software is a payroll tax compliance provider offering APIs and onboarding software for payroll platforms and large employers in the United States and Canada. The company powers platforms such as Gusto, UKG, ADP, and Paychex, automating tax calculations and withholding forms. Symmetry handles paycheck processing for millions of employees annually through its infrastructure at symmetry.com. | |
| HQ Country | | | | | |
| HQ City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA | Phoenix, AZ | |
| Deal Date | 8 Apr 2026 | 27 Aug 2025 | 26 Oct 2021 | 8 Jul 2021 | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | $600M | undisclosed | undisclosed | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
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Investments by Gusto
Gusto has invested in 3 companies to date.
Latest investment by Gusto was on June 15th 2023. Gusto invested in Kept in their $2M Seed round.
Latest Investments by Gusto
| Description | Kept is a San Francisco-headquartered HR technology platform offering offboarding services for departing employees. It automates COBRA administration, benefits continuation, and separation agreements while providing concierge support including career transition resources. The service integrates with payroll systems like ADP and Gusto for seamless data transfer. Launched in 2020, Kept serves mid-sized companies in tech and finance sectors across the U.S. | San Francisco-headquartered Mosey automates employment and tax compliance for businesses operating in all 50 U.S. states and over 100 cities. The platform handles wage compliance, tax filings, benefits administration, and HR policies at reduced costs compared to traditional professional services. | Utopia Labs is a San Francisco-headquartered developer of DAO management software that streamlines payment processing and contributor compensation. The platform handles invoice approvals, expense reimbursements, and automated payroll for core team members via recurring salary executions. Transaction categorization through tags ensures transparent financial reporting for decentralized organizations. Integrated with Ethereum and Polygon blockchains, it supports multi-signature wallets and governance voting, serving Web3 communities worldwide. |
| HQ Country | | | |
| HQ City | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Deal Date | 15 Jun 2023 | 4 Aug 2022 | 31 May 2022 |
| Round | Seed | Series A | Series A |
| Raised | $2M | $18M | $23M |
| Investors | Treasury; Wonder Ventures; Wedbush Ventures; ROTH Capital Partners; Recall Capital | Canaan Partners; Charge Ventures; Evolution Ventures; SemperVirens Venture Capital | Fourth Revolution Capital; Distributed Global; Coinbase Ventures; Circle Ventures; IVC; Kindred Ventures; Paradigm |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |||
| EV/EBITDA | |||
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Gusto Competitors
Gusto competitors include listed companies like Paycom and Paylocity, and private ones like Personio, Rippling, Deel and BetterUp.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Publicly listed | $2.1B | $799M | $10B | 5.1x | |
 Munich | Private | $242M | - | $8.5B | 35.1x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $1.8B | $499M | $7.8B | 4.2x | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | $570M | - | $17B | 29.5x | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | $1.7B | - | $17B | 10.0x | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | $100M | - | $4.7B | 47.0x |
Gusto Public Comps
Gusto is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Paycom, Paylocity, Workiva, TOTVS, Hilan, ATOSS Software, Freee, Teamshares, Nordtech Group and Paychex.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $2.1B | $799M | 5.3x | 5.1x | 13.7x | 11.3x | |||
| $1.8B | $499M | 4.3x | 4.2x | 15.3x | 11.5x | |||
| $885M | ($33M) | 4.5x | 4.0x | (120.8x) | 24.0x | |||
| $1.1B | $318M | 3.9x | 3.2x | 13.7x | 12.1x | |||
| $993M | $154M | 1.8x | - | 11.9x | - | |||
| $218M | $84M | 7.0x | 6.4x | 18.2x | 17.1x | |||
| $214M | $6M | 6.3x | 4.8x | 237.7x | 65.4x | |||
| $472M | ($23M) | 1.7x | 1.4x | (35.0x) | 33.2x | |||
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Common questions about Gusto
| When was Gusto founded? | Gusto was founded in 2011. |
| Where is Gusto headquartered? | Gusto is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Gusto publicly listed? | No, Gusto is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Gusto's valuation? | Gusto was last valued at $9.5B in its Series E in May 2022. |
| How much funding has Gusto raised? | Gusto has raised $740M across 7 funding rounds. |
| What was Gusto's last funding round? | Gusto's last funding round was a $55M Series E in May 2022, led by Friends & Family Capital. |
| Who are Gusto's investors? | Gusto's investors include General Catalyst, Friends & Family Capital, Kleiner Perkins, T. Rowe Price, CapitalG, Dragoneer, Emergence Capital, 137 Ventures, WME Ventures, Chang Corporation and 15 others. |
| What is Gusto's revenue? | Gusto's latest recorded revenue is $500M (May 2022). |
| What is Gusto's revenue multiple? | Gusto's latest valuation implies a 19.0x revenue multiple ($9.5B valuation on $500M of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to Gusto? | Companies comparable to Gusto include Paycom, Personio, Paylocity, Rippling, Deel and BetterUp. |
| How many companies has Gusto acquired? | Gusto has acquired 6 companies, including Mosey, Guideline, RemoteTeam, Symmetry Software and Ardius. |
| What was the largest acquisition by Gusto? | The $600M acquisition of Guideline in August 2025 is the largest acquisition Gusto has made to date. |
| How many companies has Gusto invested in? | Gusto has invested in 3 companies, including Kept, Mosey and Utopia Labs. |
| What was Gusto's last investment? | In June 2023, Gusto invested in Kept's $2M seed round alongside Treasury, Wonder Ventures, Wedbush Ventures and 2 other investors. |
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