# Central raises $8.6M from First Round Capital & YC

Founders start companies to solve problems and build something that matters. Not to become HR managers.

Yet here we are in 2025. Despite countless $10B+ 'solutions', founders are still drowning in back-office bullshit.

Why? Because every platform was built for HR professionals, not founders.

Today, every founder still has to: Register in multiple states. Set up workers' comp. Categorize expenses. Decipher government letters. Pay invoices. Update addresses. Manage equity. Troubleshoot insurance. Answer PTO questions. The list never ends.

What a waste of time. But what's worse is the constant anxiety: What am I missing? Did I do this right? Will I get fined?

What founders need isn't another tool they have to learn and manage, but something that actually does the work. All of it.

**So we built Central**

Central kills back-office work for startups. While HR/payroll platforms give you software to manage, we actually do all the work using AI agents and human experts: payroll, benefits, compliance, accounting, taxes, and more.

Today, [we’re excited to announce that we’ve raised $8.6M in funding](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/central-raises-8-6m-led-by-first-round-to-replace-traditional-payroll--hrfinance-tools-with-an-ai-first-back-office-in-slack-302535552.html) led by [First Round Capital](https://www.firstround.com/), with participation from [Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/), [Ritual Capital](https://ritualcapital.com/), [Multimodal Ventures](https://www.multimodal.ventures/), [Alumni Ventures](https://www.av.vc/), [Surgepoint Capital](https://www.surgepointcap.com/), and several prominent founders who've felt this pain, including [Kulveer Taggar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kulveer/) (Co-Founder & CEO at Zeus), [JJ Fliegelman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjfliegelman/) (Co-Founder & CTO at WayUp), and [Richard Aberman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/richaberman/) (Co-Founder and CPO at WePay).

In just one year, companies including [Wordware](https://app.wordware.ai/lp), [Magic Patterns](https://www.magicpatterns.com/), [Bitesight](https://www.bitesight.com/), [Wyndly](https://www.wyndly.com/), [Poseidon Aerospace](https://www.poseidonaero.com/), [Ulysses](https://www.ulysses.eco/), [Diode](https://www.diode.computer/), and hundreds more have made Central their back-office platform.

We've processed $80M+ in payroll, and 30% of our customers switched from Rippling, Gusto, Deel and other traditional HR/payroll platforms.

Bo Nam, founder & CEO of [EightAI](https://www.eightai.com/), put it best: “I’ve used and suffered with nearly every payroll service prior to Central, including Gusto, Rippling, Deel, and more for the past 10+ years across 2 of my own startups. Central has changed my life. I went from spending 5-10 hours every week to literally ZERO time.”  **why central**

Proactive & autonomous

Central doesn't give you to-do lists. It actually does the work. While other platforms send you 47 notifications about tasks you need to complete, Central just does it. Hired someone in California? We've already registered you with the California Employment Development Department. Need workers' comp? Done.

AI teammate in Slack

Central feels like working with a teammate in Slack. Need to adjust payroll, find your insurance card, or send an offer letter? Just message @Central in Slack.

Integrated expert support

When you need more help, Central connects you with our licensed experts without making you repeat yourself or leave Slack. Real humans who actually respond fast.

All-in-one

Stop juggling multiple tools for payroll, benefits, compliance, accounting, and taxes. Central handles everything, with new features launching every month.

**we're fighting for startups**

This funding lets us scale our team and accelerate our mission.

We're grateful to our investors, customers, partners, and team.

Special thanks to [Meka Asonye](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mekaasonye/) at First Round Capital for leading our round, [Abhijeet Dwivedi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhijeetdw/) for his wisdom, and [Gustaf Alströmer](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustafalstromer/) at Y Combinator for his support.

Founders - [Book a demo](https://centralhq.com/) now to reclaim your time and sanity.

We're also hiring the best engineers and operators. Check out our [open roles](https://centralhq.com/).

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