Gunderson Dettmer represented client Oyster, a developer of a distributed talent enablement platform, in its $150 million Series C financing. Georgian, which led the round, was joined by Salesforce Ventures, Base 10, Okta, LinkedIn, and Endeavor Catalyst along with existing investors Stripes, Emergence Capital, PayPal Ventures, Slack, Avid Ventures, People Tech Partners, and HR Tech Investments. Oyster’s platform enables a company to hire, make locally compliant payroll, and offer benefits to its full-time employees around the world. The new capital brings Oyster’s valuation to $1 billion and will be used to further develop its global employment platform and invest in the People Ops community.

In the announcement of the transaction, Co-Founder and CEO of Oyster Tony Jamous said, “Distributed work is better for business, better for people, and better for the planet. Our mission, to create a more equal world by helping companies everywhere hire people anywhere, fuels everything that we do. It’s thanks to the strength and impact of that mission that we have been able to grow our team and business in such an unprecedented way. We’re thrilled to work with Georgian and our investor partners on this step of the journey.”

The Gunderson deal team was led by Glen Van Ligten and included Stephanie Lane, Tanya Tarczynski, Bailey McQuain, Michael Richman, and Laurel Fedder.  

Companies:
Oyster
Georgian
Salesforce Ventures
Base 10
Okta
LinkedIn
Endeavor Catalyst
Stripes
Emergence Capital
PayPal Ventures
Slack
Avid Ventures
People Tech Partners
HR Tech Investments