Zenefits

HR softwareUSA

New to Unitard

🤝 Acquired

Peak $4.5 BillionToday

~-90%

from peak

🦄
Became a unicorn
2014
📈
Peak valuation
$4.5 Billion ’15
💔
Became a Unitard
2016
💸
Last valuation
~$450M

Current status

Acquired by TriNet (Francisco Partners) in 2022 for an undisclosed, immaterial sum after years of markdowns

The rise & fall

8 moments · 2013–2024

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

2013

Founded in San Francisco

Parker Conrad and Laks Srini launch free HR software that makes its money as an insurance broker.

TechCrunch

2014

Joins the unicorn club

Blistering growth makes Zenefits one of the fastest SaaS startups ever to a ten-figure valuation.

TechCrunch

May 2015

The peak: $4.5B$4.5B

A $500M round from Fidelity, TPG and Comcast Ventures makes it the hottest startup in SaaS.

TechCrunch

Feb 2016

Licensing scandal; Conrad resigns

Zenefits sold insurance without proper licenses — and built software to help staff cheat state licensing courses. Founder-CEO Parker Conrad is out; David Sacks takes over.

WSJ

2016

Falls out of the club

The company cuts its own valuation to $2B in a deal with investors, and Fidelity writes its stake down further.

Entrepreneur

Feb 2022

Acquired by TriNet for an undisclosed sum

The price is so immaterial the $6B acquirer doesn't disclose it — the end of years of markdowns.

Healthcare Finance

2022–24

From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2022–24

Glassdoor reviews from the TriNet era read like an epilogue: employees described the 2022 acquisition as the moment the startup culture faded, with frequent layoffs, constantly shifting quotas and roles, and a steady drain of talent.

💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

Zenefits was a fast-rising HR, benefits and payroll software startup that hit a $4.5B valuation in 2015 on a $500M round. It imploded after revelations that it had sold insurance without proper licenses and built software to help staff cheat state licensing courses; founder-CEO Parker Conrad resigned in 2016 and the company cut its own valuation to $2B. After years of decline it was sold to TriNet in 2022 for an undisclosed, immaterial sum.

Source: Entrepreneur / TriNet / Healthcare Finance (HR/benefits SaaS; raised $500M at a $4.5B valuation in 2015 from Fidelity, TPG and Comcast Ventures; cut its own valuation to $2B in 2016 amid a licensing-compliance scandal and CEO exit; Fidelity wrote down its stake; acquired by TriNet in Feb 2022 for an undisclosed sum so small the $6B acquirer did not disclose it)

Founders

Parker Conrad
Co-founder & CEO (2013-2016)
Now Customer Support at RipplingLinkedIn ↗
Laks Srini
co-founder & CTO
Now Building New Products at RipplingLinkedIn ↗