Keith Rabois of Khosla is backing Comp, which wants to support HR teams with AI

After graduating from Cornell University, Christoph Gerlach spent nearly two years investing exclusively in HR technology startups for General Atlantic. The investment was exciting, but Gerlach longed to return to entrepreneurship.

While at Cornell, Gerlach (pictured above, right) built and sold a food delivery startup alongside classmate Pedro Bobro (pictured above, left), a native of Brazil. Then in late 2022, Gerlach and Bobrow (formerly a product manager at Lyft) teamed up again, combining their sector expertise and cultural roots to launch Comp, a Brazil-focused HR tech startup.

Comp is building AI-powered HR software that can help with tasks like hiring, setting compensation policies, and designing performance review systems. The startup also provides “forward-deployed” experts — former human resources executives — who work with clients to design compensation, performance and hiring strategies.

While companies in Brazil often hire compensation consultants, Gerlach says future deployed HR executives should not be viewed as consultants, but rather as extensions of existing HR teams.

These executives also play a critical role in improving companies’ technology. “Our HR executives do all the work manually at first, and then use that work to train the AI ​​how to think about best practices,” Gerlach said.

The idea, of course, is that over time, Comp’s AI agents will become fully autonomous and able to perform traditional HR functions.

While Comp currently offers AI-powered HR services powered by professionals, its goal is to replace both traditional consulting and HR software. As Gerlach puts it: “Rippling sells software to start-up HR teams to make them more productive. We become the HR team.”

To that end, the companies this week raised a $17.25 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, marking the venture capital firm’s first-ever investment in a Brazilian company. Khosla’s general partner, Keith Rabois, has joined Comp’s board of directors as part of the deal.

Comp positions itself as an AI alternative to traditional compensation consulting firms like Mercer, Korn Ferry, and Willis Towers Watson. It also competes with global HR platforms like Rippling and Workday.

Gerlach says Comp launched in Brazil because many companies in the country lacked traditional HR software, which allowed the startup to offer a new automated model rather than competing with existing platforms.

The business model appears to have already gained traction in Brazil: its clients include Nubank, QuintoAndar, Creditas, and “almost every unicorn in Brazil,” Gerlach says. The startup is now looking to expand into the United States and other countries.

Other investors in Comp’s Series A include existing backers Kaszek and Canary, as well as new investors Abstract Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst.