Central, the first autonomous back-office platform purpose-built for startups, has raised $8.6 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Ritual Capital, Multimodal Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Surgepoint Capital, and several high-profile founders including Kulveer Taggar (Zeus), JJ Fliegelman (WayUp), and Richard Aberman (WePay).
Central is designed for the next generation of founders who want to focus on building companies rather than managing back-office operations. By leveraging AI-driven automation, the platform manages payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes, state registrations, HR, and government filings—without requiring users to navigate complicated systems or endless compliance checklists.
Unlike traditional HR and finance tools, Central integrates directly into Slack, functioning like an operational teammate that executes tasks seamlessly behind the scenes.
“Founders don’t start companies to get buried in payroll forms or state compliance filings,” said Josh Wymer, Co-Founder & CEO of Central. “This funding allows us to scale what’s already working, as hundreds of startups rely on Central as their AI-powered back office. Central provides the leverage of a full HR and finance team, without the overhead of hiring one.”
Competing in a Multi-Billion-Dollar Market
Central enters a competitive field dominated by Rippling ($16B), Deel ($12B), Gusto ($10B), ADP ($122B), and Workday ($60B). However, its AI-first approach and simplified Slack integration set it apart as a modern, compliant alternative to fragmented back-office stacks.
The platform has already processed over $75 million in payroll, with nearly one-third of its customers switching from legacy providers like Rippling, Deel, and Gusto. Companies such as Wordware, Wyndly, Poseidon Aerospace, Bitesight, Abel Police, Ulysses, Deepnight, Blaxel, and Diode are among Central’s fast-growing customer base.
Investor Confidence in AI-Powered Operations
“Every founder hits a moment where back-office operations start getting in the way of growth,” said Meka Asonye, Partner at First Round Capital. “Central is the first solution we’ve seen that doesn’t just streamline the work—it eliminates it. The team combines firsthand startup experience, deep technical expertise, and a strong understanding of what high-growth companies need.”
What’s Next for Central
With fresh capital, Central plans to scale its AI platform, expand its expert support team, and launch new features and integrations that further remove operational friction for startups.
By reimagining back-office tasks as an autonomous function, Central is positioning itself as the go-to platform for founders who want to build, not manage bureaucracy.