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Draft:Alex Bouaziz

  • Comment: Coverage is about Deel. Avgeekamfot (talk) 10:58, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. Maximuslev (talk) 08:58, 9 June 2026 (UTC)



Alex Bouaziz
Born1993 (age 32–33)
France
EducationTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationsEntrepreneur and Investor
Known forCo-founder and CEO of Deel

Alex Bouaziz (born 1993) is a French-Israeli entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Deel, a global payroll and human resources technology company. Founded in 2019, Deel reached unicorn status in 2021 and was valued at $17.3 billion in 2025.

Early life and education

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Bouaziz was born in 1993 in France. He grew up in Paris[1][2] and said that, as a child, he wanted to become the CEO of Nintendo.[3][4] His father, Philippe Bouaziz, founded the IT company Prodware in 1989. Bouaziz completed the French baccalauréat at the age of 16 and moved to Israel to study engineering.[5][6][7]

He attended the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he completed a degree in civil and environmental engineering. He later completed a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[7][8] where he met Shuo Wang, with whom he would later found Deel. He subsequently spent a year working on a PhD at Imperial College London, before leaving academia in 2016 to co-found Lifeslice and Sarona Ventures.[6]

Career

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Bouaziz co-founded his first startup, Lifeslice, a startup focused on collaborative video creation,[9] and later founded early-stage venture fund Sarona Ventures.[7]

In 2019, Bouaziz co-founded Deel with Shuo Wang, and the company took part in the Y Combinator accelerator.[10] The idea for Deel was informed by their shared difficulties in hiring and paying talent across borders, as well as Bouaziz’s own experience as a French graduate in the United States facing visa limitations and seeing talented friends return to countries where comparable work opportunities paid significantly less.[11][6] During Bouaziz’s tenure as CEO, Deel reached unicorn status in 2021 and by October 2025 was valued at about $17.3 billion after a $300 million funding round, reporting more than $1 billion in annual recurring revenue.[12] Fortune reported that Bouaziz kept much of Deel’s original leadership team in place as the company scaled.[13]

In 2025, rival company Rippling sued Deel and made allegations of corporate espionage; Deel denied wrongdoing and later filed a countersuit against Rippling.[14][15][16] In January 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation around Rippling’s claims.[17] In March 2026, the Irish High Court set aside the joining of Bouaziz and two other Deel executives as defendants in Rippling’s Irish action.[18]

Bouaziz is an active early-stage technology investor. He is a partner at Sarona Ventures, a Tel Aviv venture firm.[19][20] He has also made angel investments in technology startups, often alongside other founders; reported investments include Viktor,[21] NALA,[22] Slope,[23] and Isembard.[24] In 2022, Business Insider included him in a roundup of startup founders who also invest in other startups, highlighting investments including Kalshi, Italic, and Sorare.[25].

Recognition

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In 2025, Forbes included Bouaziz on its billionaires list and in its ranking of the richest self-made billionaires under 40, estimating his net worth at $2 billion.[26][27]

References

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  1. ↑ "Alexandre BOUAZIZ personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Alex Bouaziz". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Who Is the CEO of Deel? Alex Bouaziz's Story & Role". www.deel.com. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  4. ↑ HD in HD Podcast (16 October 2025). How Alex Bouaziz Built Deel Into a $17B Giant | HD in HD Podcast. Retrieved 9 July 2026 – via YouTube.
  5. ↑ Vaneeckhoutte, François (2 January 2025). "Qui est Alex Bouaziz, le jeune fondateur de la licorne Deel au succès fulgurant?". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "As work goes remote, Alex Bouaziz built a tool to dissolve borders for employers". Canadian Lawyer. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Global payroll co Deel raises $156m at $1.25b valuation". Globes. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  8. ↑ York, Alexandra. "U30 Alum Alex Bouaziz Snags $2 Billion Fortune—But The Competition Is Still Hot". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Cai, Kenrick. "$12 Billion HR Startup Deel Changed Global Hiring. Now It Wants To Change Regulators' Minds". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Liu, Phoebe. "How This Chinese Immigrant Became One Of America's Most Successful Self-Made Women". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Born Global, Built at Speed: Inside Deel's AI Engine - [Session VivaTech] - Theme: undefined". Vivatechnology. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Singh, Jaspreet (16 October 2025). "Deel hits $17.3 billion valuation, aims to expand globally". Reuters.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ↑ Royle, Orianna Rosa. "Deel's CEO was told to sack his entire leadership team—he ignored other founders, kept the original $0 crew and is now running a $17 billion giant". Fortune. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Durot, Matt. "Deel Vs. Rippling: Alex Bouaziz On Deel's Latest Fundraise And Why He's Not Worried About Litigation". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Deel's Counterclaims Against Rippling". www.deel.com. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Azevedo, Mary Ann (25 April 2025). "Deel files countersuit against Rippling as rivalry escalates". TechCrunch. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  17. ↑ Winkler, Rolfe (23 January 2026). "Exclusive | Justice Department Opens Criminal Probe Into Silicon Valley Spy Allegations". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "Deel executives can be removed as defendants in espionage case brought by rival Rippling". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  19. ↑ Orbach, Meir (10 September 2020). "Israeli-American automated payroll platform Deel raises $30 million". Calcalist.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ "Alex Bouaziz". Sarona Ventures. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Stanciuc, Ana-Maria (20 May 2026). "Viktor takes $75m from Accel to put an AI coworker inside Slack and Teams". TNW | Investors-Funding. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Kene-Okafor, Tage (27 January 2022). "Tanzanian fintech NALA raises $10M seed to build Revolut for Africa". TechCrunch. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  23. ↑ Hall, Christine (27 September 2023). "Sam Altman backs Slope's $30M round to digitize, scale B2B payments". TechCrunch. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  24. ↑ Garcia, David Cendon (9 March 2026). "Industrial startup Isembard bags €43 million to scale software-powered factories for aerospace and energy sectors". EU-Startups. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Russell, Melia. "Here are 39 startup founders using their business chops to help other founders prosper". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  26. ↑ Durot, Matt. "Meet The Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  27. ↑ "Wiz's Reznik, Deel's Bouaziz named among richest entrepreneurs under 40". ctech. 29 December 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2026.

Category:1993 births Category:Living people Category:French businesspeople Category:Israeli businesspeople Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Category:Y Combinator people

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