London-based employee benefits platform Ben has raised £20.8 million in a Series B funding round as it looks to challenge legacy systems used by multinational employers to manage increasingly complex benefits programmes.
The round was led by Mercia Ventures, with strong participation from existing investors Atomico, Cherry Ventures, DN Capital and Seedcamp.
A new backer in this round was Revolut founder Nik Storonsky’s QuantumLight Capital.
The London-based firm uses AI-driven technology to help large organisations manage employee benefits across multiple countries, consolidating what is often a fragmented and admin-heavy process into a single platform.
The company said the funding will be used to accelerate its product roadmap and strengthen its go-to-market capabilities as demand grows from global enterprises seeking modern alternatives to outdated infrastructure.
The raise follows a period of rapid growth for the business, with the firm now working with enterprise customers across Europe and North America and supporting employees in more than 140 countries.
Since its previous funding round in August 2022, revenue has grown more than tenfold, driven by organisations moving away from legacy benefits platforms.
Its AI-native system automates administrative tasks for HR teams, provides real-time visibility over costs and utilisation and delivers personalised guidance to employees, with the goal of reducing waste, improving access to benefits and increasing engagement.
“Employee benefits have never been more important – and never harder for global employers to manage,” said Sebastian Fallert, co-founder and CEO of Ben.
“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.”
Ben was founded in 2019 by Fallert and David Duckworth. Fallert previously built and sold travel app JustBook Mobile to Secret Escapes, while Duckworth spent several years in financial services at HSBC and Monitor Deloitte.
The pair set out to modernise benefits management after experiencing first-hand how outdated and inefficient existing systems had become.
The company’s customer base includes Mondelez, Trainline, Octopus Energy, Deliveroo and Zalando.
As part of its next phase of growth, the business is planning to expand its commercial presence, continue investing in its technology platform and deepen relationships with brokers and other channel partners.
Jonathan Kruger of Mercia Ventures added: “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.”