Ben raises £20.8m Series B to centralise multinational benefits using AI
This article covers Ben, an HR tech startup that has raised £20.8m ($27.5m) in a Series B to expand its product and go-to-market push for managing employee benefits at multinational employers. The funding aims to support employers, HR teams and finance functions by centralising benefits administration and simplifying cross-border benefits management.
Ben, an hrtech startup based in London, has raised £20.8m ($27.5m) in a Series B to expand its product and go-to-market push for managing employee benefits at multinational companies. The funding arrives as employers wrestle with the cost and complexity of benefits across multiple countries, and the company says it has seen rapid revenue growth and enterprise traction.
Why it matters
Employee benefits typically account for 10 to 30 percent of payroll, making them a substantial operating cost and a key part of retention and recruitment. For employers operating across jurisdictions, benefits administration is fragmented by local rules, providers and payroll systems, creating manual work and hidden waste.
Modernising that infrastructure is a timely challenge. As large employers pursue global, centralized tooling, vendors that can simplify administration and provide cost visibility become strategically important to HR teams and finance functions.
Inside the product
Ben consolidates benefits administration into a single platform that connects employers, employees, brokers and providers. The company emphasises an AI-first approach to automate repetitive tasks, surface real-time views of costs and utilisation, and offer personalised guidance to employees. Ben says it now supports employees in more than 140 countries and has grown revenue more than tenfold since its previous funding round.
In practical terms, that means centralising configuration and rules that vary by country, reducing manual reconciliation between HR, payroll and benefits providers, and attempting to reduce overpayment or underuse through employee-facing guidance.
Who are the investors?
The Series B was led by Mercia Ventures. Existing backers Atomico, Cherry Ventures, DN Capital and Seedcamp also participated, with new investment from QuantumLight Capital, the firm founded by Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky.
Investor rationale emphasised the size of the problem and Ben’s traction against legacy incumbents. Jonathan Kruger of Mercia Ventures said:
Employee benefits are a huge expense for businesses but the current infrastructure is broken. Ben’s platform brings together employers, employees, brokers and providers to create an intelligent network that delivers value for everyone. The company is growing fast and winning against the big incumbents, and this investment will help to establish Ben as the ultimate platform for modern employee benefit management.
We’re very excited to be working with Seb, David and the rest of the team, alongside Atomico, Cherry Ventures, DN Capital, QuantumLight and Seedcamp.
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Founder perspective
Ben was founded in 2019 by Sebastian Fallert and David Duckworth. Fallert previously built and sold travel app JustBook Mobile to Secret Escapes, and Duckworth’s background includes roles at HSBC and Monitor Deloitte. The founding story traces to both founders encountering outdated benefits administration and seeing an opportunity to apply modern payments and automation to the problem.
In the announcement, Sebastian Fallert, Co-founder and CEO of Ben, said:
Employee benefits have never been more important - and never harder for global employers to manage. For years, enterprises have been held back by fragmented systems and manual processes. AI changes that. It gives employers a way to tackle complexity at its source - in the rules, workflows and data that sit between HR, providers and payroll. This investment lets us bring that approach to more markets so benefits teams can spend less time on administration and more time supporting their people.
The bigger picture
Ben’s customer list includes Mondelez, Trainline, Octopus Energy, Deliveroo and Zalando, offering a cross‑sector sample: Mondelez and Zalando operate large, multinational workforces; Trainline and Deliveroo have complex contractor and employee models; Octopus highlights energy sector adoption. These references suggest the platform is targeting enterprise customers with distributed workforces and varied benefits requirements.
The round reflects continuing investor interest in enterprise HR tooling that replaces legacy incumbents. It also shows cross-pollination between fintech and HR tech investing, signalled by QuantumLight’s participation. For UK and European HR teams, the move towards centralised, data-driven benefits platforms mirrors wider trends in payroll, HRIS consolidation and automation.
This fundraise is another marker of London’s role as a hub for enterprise software and fintech-adjacent startups, and it underscores the momentum behind vendors that aim to simplify complex, regulated enterprise processes across Europe and North America.
They've invested in Ben
Get to know these hrtech investors
| Investor | Sector | Stage | Activity | Team | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mercia (Mercia Ventures) | 92 investments investments | 14 contacts contacts | |||
 Atomico | 17 investments investments | 23 contacts contacts | |||
 Cherry Ventures | 36 investments investments | 8 contacts contacts | |||
 DN Capital | 4 investments investments | more info | |||
 Seedcamp | 29 investments investments | 7 contacts contacts | |||
 QuantumLight (QuantumLight Capital) | 2 investments investments | 1 contact contact |
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