Oyster HR

Global employment platform for hiring, paying, and taking care of distributed employees and contractors in 180+ countries. Remote-first, no HQ. Reached unicorn status in 2022.

Services HR Tech / Employer of Record / Global Payroll
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Remote-First (No HQ, 70+ countries) HQ
600 employees
2020 founded

What is Oyster HR?

Oyster HR is a global employment platform that lets companies hire, pay, and support employees and contractors in 180+ countries without setting up a legal entity in each one. The company operates as an Employer of Record (EOR) in dozens of jurisdictions, handles contractor management and global payroll everywhere else, and layers compliance, benefits, and equity administration on top. Tony Jamous (CEO) and Jack Mardack (COO) founded Oyster in 2020 after Tony sold his previous company, Nexmo, to Vonage for $230M. The company launched publicly in January 2020 timed to the sudden global shift to remote work, and grew fast through 2021 and early 2022. Series A ($20M, Emergence Capital), Series B ($50M, Stripes and Emergence), and Series C ($150M, led by Georgian at a $1B valuation in April 2022) followed in short succession. Oyster is remote-first by design: the workforce is entirely distributed across 70+ countries with no headquarters and no mandatory office at any level. The company went through significant layoffs in 2022 and again in 2023 and 2024 as the EOR market growth cooled and competitive intensity from Deel, Remote.com, and Rippling Global increased. Approximately 600 employees remain post-restructuring. Product focus in 2025-2026 has narrowed toward mid-market and enterprise customers with deeper compliance, equity, and benefits tooling.

Mission & values

Create a more equal world by making it possible for any company to hire any person, anywhere, and give that person the pay, benefits, and support they deserve.

Qualifications

Oyster HR hires across engineering (backend, distributed systems, payroll, compliance, security, frontend, infrastructure), product, design, legal and compliance (specialized country-by-country roles), sales, sales engineering, customer success, marketing, and G&A. Application flow lives at oysterhr.com/careers. Every role is fully remote, with the eligible-country list on each posting scoped to Oyster's own EOR footprint (which is broader than most peers because they run this platform themselves). Legal, compliance, and payroll roles are often country-specific and require in-country expertise for that jurisdiction. Because Oyster sells the tooling for distributed work, the internal remote practice is well-developed: async-by-default communication, structured written planning, and light meeting culture.

Leadership

T

Tony Jamous

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Co-founded Oyster in 2020. Previously co-founded Nexmo, a global communications API company sold to Vonage in 2016 for $230M. Long-time advocate of geographically-borderless hiring.

J

Jack Mardack

Co-Founder

Co-founded Oyster in 2020 alongside Tony Jamous. Long-time operator in global HR and distributed teams.

K

Katie Kalvoda

Chief Financial Officer

Leads finance, business operations, and investor relations post-Series C.

Hiring process

  1. 1

    Apply at oysterhr.com/careers

    Browse open roles and submit through the Oyster careers portal.

  2. 2

    Recruiter screen

    Confirms role fit, target level, country of residence for entity match, and salary expectations.

    About 7 days

  3. 3

    Hiring manager interview

    Deep conversation with the manager who owns the position.

    About 7 days

  4. 4

    Technical or role-specific loop

    Engineering: coding, systems design, and often a take-home project. Legal, compliance, and payroll: jurisdiction-specific scenario interviews. GTM: case study or role-play.

    About 14 days

  5. 5

    Values interview and offer

    Cross-functional interview on remote effectiveness and values fit, followed by offer with base, bonus, and equity.

    About 7 days

Funding

StageSeries C+
Total raised$220,000,000
Investors
Georgian Emergence Capital Stripes The Slack Fund Chris Herndon (early) Real Ventures

Awards & recognition

  • Reached $1B unicorn valuation on Series C led by Georgian · 2022

    Oyster HR

  • Launched public platform timed to global shift to remote work · 2020

    Oyster HR

  • EOR coverage in 180+ countries · 2026

    Oyster HR

Company information

Frequently asked questions

Is Oyster HR fully remote?
Yes. Oyster has been remote-first from founding in 2020, with no headquarters and no mandatory office at any level. The workforce spans 70+ countries.
Which countries can I apply from?
Oyster hires from any country covered by its own EOR footprint, which is broader than most peers because they run the platform themselves. Each posting lists the exact eligible countries.
Who founded Oyster?
Tony Jamous (CEO) and Jack Mardack (COO) in 2020. Tony had previously co-founded Nexmo, a global communications API company sold to Vonage in 2016 for $230M.
How much has Oyster HR raised?
Approximately $220M across Series A, B, and C. The most recent round, a $150M Series C led by Georgian in April 2022, set the valuation at $1B and made Oyster a unicorn.
Did Oyster have layoffs?
Yes. Significant workforce reductions in 2022, 2023, and 2024 as EOR-market growth cooled and competition from Deel, Remote.com, and Rippling Global intensified. Roughly 600 employees remain post-restructuring.
How does Oyster differ from Deel and Remote.com?
All three compete in Employer of Record and global payroll. Oyster has historically positioned around ethical global employment and mid-market fit; Deel has scaled fastest on volume and product breadth; Remote.com has emphasized owned entities and compliance depth.
Does Oyster hire legal and compliance experts?
Yes, and country-specific expertise is one of the most in-demand skill areas. Roles are scoped by jurisdiction and require in-country legal or payroll credentials.

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