German unicorn Personio acquires spend management platform Circula

German HR unicorn Personio has acquired Circula, a German spend management platform. The acquisition aims to become the first European platform to unite HR, payroll, and spend management capabilities. Circula's CEO, Nikolai Skatchkov, explains that European spend management is complex due to rules changing at every border. By integrating Circula into Personio, European businesses will have an integrated system for all workforce-related expenses, including payroll, expenses, and benefits.

Circula has already solved the complexity of syncing employee data between spend management and HR platforms, with hundreds of joint customers already using this integration. This acquisition comes amid significant investment in European HR, workforce management, and related spend management software, with EU-Startups reporting nearly €500 million across various rounds this year.

Circula and Personio have previously collaborated closely to serve many of Personio's European customers. The two companies will continue to work together, with expenses flowing into payroll through both payroll integrations and Personio's native payroll engine. Both companies have built expertise in compliance and tax optimization in their respective domains, and will work to seamlessly integrate these features into a single solution.

Circula will operate as Circula by Personio from October 6, while existing Circula customers can continue using the product as a standalone solution.