German HR unicorn Personio acquires spend management platform Circula
German HRTech unicorn Personio has acquired domestic spend management company Circula, combining payroll, HR and spend management on one platform. The deal follows Circula's €15 million Series A round in 2025.
Munich-based HR and payroll platform Personio has announced the acquisition of Circula, a German spend management platform. According to the company, this makes Personio the first European platform to unite HR, payroll and spend management under one roof.
The acquisition comes a year after Circula raised €15 million in a Series A round in 2025.
Why the companies joined forces
Personio CEO and co-founder Hanno Renner says spend management is one of the most requested capabilities from customers, but it is complex to implement across Europe since rules differ by country, similar to payroll. He notes that Circula has spent nine years solving that complexity.
Circula CEO and co-founder Nikolai Skatchkov explains that the company had already solved syncing employee data between spend management and HR platforms, an integration already used by hundreds of joint customers. However, tax logic on the expense side and payroll side had always been built separately by two different companies — something the merger now aims to change.
Background
The acquisition comes amid sustained investment in Europe's HR and workforce-management sector in 2026. Nearly €500 million has been reported across several related funding rounds this year, including France's Skello (€200 million), Barcelona-based Factorial (€129 million), Amsterdam-based WorkFlex (€37 million) and Berlin-based spend-management company Moss (€30 million).
Deal details
Founded in Munich in 2015, Personio is used by more than 16,000 companies employing 1.6 million people. Circula, meanwhile, is trusted by more than 3,000 European mid-market businesses for expenses, corporate cards and tax-optimised benefits. The two companies have already worked closely together for several years serving shared customers.
From October 6, Circula will operate as Circula by Personio, with its team joining Personio. For customers who do not use Personio, the Circula product will continue to be available as a standalone offering.
