What’s the Deel with Remofirst, and why are VCs playing musical chairs?

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Hello, and welcome to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Friday episode, in which we dig through the most critical stories and themes from the week.

Today on the pod, Mary Ann and Alex dug into a whole mess of news, including:

• Mews’ massive new round is proof that vertical SaaS + payments remains a great way to build a big business, and earn a unicorn valuation at a time when those are growing rarer.
• The global companies taking on Carta, including QuotaLab in South Korea. An acquisition has helped QuotaLab expand its product remit to founders, investors and their LPs.
• Deel’s purchase of Africa’s PaySpace got us talking about how acquisitive the HR tech company has been lately. We also dug into news that Deel crossed the $500 million ARR mark, a feat that other companies in its market have managed, like Gusto. (Remofirst also raised more capital, showing just how competitive Deel’s market is today.)
• Venture capital musical chairs: One Founders Fund investor has left the firm to go back to building things, while Benchmark lost a partner to their prior home at Thrive. Expect more, similar moves this year as venture resets from its last boom.

We have an interview coming out tomorrow that we’re stoked about, and will be back on Monday. Talk soon!