Deel buys device management startup Hofy in a ‘win-win’ acquisition

The HR tech market remains robust and resilient despite challenging macro economic conditions.

Investments into the sector continued unabated, as do HR tech mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

The latest M&A news comes from global HR company Deel – it has acquired Hofy, a London-based device management startup.

Hofy enables its 700 customers across the world (including Canva, Veeva and Fujitsu) to equip their teams with work devices in just one click. Hofy also manages the entire lifecycle of the company device.

The Hofy acquisition is Deel’s third acquisition in 2024 – back in the spring, Deel bought German performance management company Zavvy and Africa-based payroll giant PaySpace.

The latest news with Hofy is a full circle moment for its Co-Founder and CPO Michael Ginzo – he was an early employee at Deel and left in 2020 to start Hofy.

A bright future for Deel and Hofy?

Founded in 2019, Deel has seen impressive growth over the past five years – it now employs 4,000 people in 100 countries, has raised $630 million, has reached a $12 billion valuation and has $500m in annual recurring revenue.

Deel helps 35,000 companies look after their teams – standout customers include Nike, BCG, Shopify and Calvin Klein.

UNLEASH was keen to find out why purchasing Hofy was the right next move for Deel and its customers.

Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH, Deel’s Co-Founder and CEO Alex Bouaziz shares: “By bringing Hofy’s best-in-class services and device lifecycle management in-house, we hope to simplify global busyness complexities for our customers with a unified platform that handles everything from device delivery and management, to software provisioning and app access.

“Now we’ll be able to handle this in 120+ countries – it’s going to radically simplify device management & IT support for global teams.”

For Bouaziz, Deel’s purchase of Hofy is “another way we’re building a simpler, more consolidated infrastructure for global companies and their teams.”

Hofy’s Ginzo also spoke to UNLEASH – he adds: “Hofy and Deel share a vision of simplifying hybrid work – including facilitating remote workforces with a hassle-free onboarding experience.

“I saw a massive opportunity in the global hiring movement when I was working at Deel on the product team.

“Hofy has helped meet this demand by delivering and managing devices in 120+ countries around the world. We’ve seen huge growth, and now it’s time to take that to the next level.

With Hofy joining Deel, customers will be able to enjoy all the benefits of our device management platform, alongside Deel’s compliance, payroll, HRIS, immigration, and people management products.

“It’s a win-win, and we couldn’t be happier to combine forces.”