Startups have long struggled with managing payroll, compliance, and HR functions. Central, a Y Combinator-backed startup, is addressing this challenge with an autonomous back-office platform that resides within Slack, automating payroll, benefits, taxes, and government filings for startups.
In a conversation with TFN, Josh Wymer, Central’s co-founder and CEO, shares, “Founders don’t start companies to manage compliance, yet that’s exactly what happens once they start hiring. Central saw hundreds of companies switching from traditional providers like Gusto, Rippling, and Deel, revealing clear demand for an AI-native alternative.”
Today, the company announced it raised $8.6 million in a seed round led by First Round Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and other investors, bringing its total funding to $9.1 million. Central did not disclose its valuation to TFN.
With this funding, Central plans to expand its engineering and expert support teams, while building new features and integrating with the broader startup ecosystem.
Automation at scale, seamlessly in Slack
Founded by Josh Wymer, former Mixpanel product engineering lead, along with Pranav Kashyap, ex-Stripe payments and tax product builder, and designer Nilay Modi, Central aims to keep founders focused on building, not bureaucracy. The platform integrates directly with Slack, allowing users to message the system and automate back-office tasks.
“We founded Central after experiencing firsthand how even the best HR platforms still forced founders to become part-time HR managers. Today we’re a team of 12, soon doubling in size, serving hundreds of startups, and have processed over $75 million in payroll,” Wymer explains to TFN.
Unlike Rippling, Deel, and Gusto, Central reimagines back-office operations as a conversation within Slack. Users simply message Central what they need, and the platform autonomously handles payroll, benefits, compliance, tax filings, onboarding, and more. This ‘teammate’ approach removes complexity and operational drag, helping startups avoid compliance pitfalls and unlock faster growth.
What’s next?
“Our goal is simple: give founders the operational leverage of a full HR and finance team without hiring one. With hundreds of startups on the platform and nearly a third switching from legacy providers, we’re ready to accelerate growth and redefine what AI-powered back-office operations should look like,” concludes Wymer.
About a third of Central’s customers have switched from legacy providers, underscoring a clear market appetite for an AI-powered back office that actually eliminates work, rather than merely streamlining it.
Over the next several years, Central aims to accelerate growth and continue reshaping how startups handle their most labour-intensive operational tasks.
