In a bold step toward redefining global workforce operations, AI-native PEO platform Niural has raised $31 million in a Series A round to advance its mission of building an intelligent operating system for CFOs. The round was led by Marathon Management Partners, with continued support from M13, Inspired Capital, Newform Capital, and several new strategic backers. With the investment, Gokul Rajaram, a respected leader serving on the boards of Coinbase, The Trade Desk, and Pinterest, joins Niural’s board.
Co-founded by Nami Baral (CEO) and Nabin Banskota (President), Niural addresses a long-ignored pain point in finance and people operations: the inefficiency and fragmentation in legacy payroll and compliance systems. Traditional providers rely on outdated 1980s infrastructure, incapable of adapting to today’s distributed, fast-scaling teams. Niural introduces a radically different approach: a unified, AI-first platform that handles everything from international payroll and compliance to HR automation and embedded finance.
At the heart of Niural’s innovation is EMMA, an executional AI coworker designed to act on behalf of CFOs and HR leaders. Early adopters report saving over 60 hours monthly, reducing HR and FX costs by up to 50%, and cutting payroll errors by 90%. The company has already onboarded leading names such as Tensor, Polygon Labs, Mob Entertainment, Slingshot AI, and Karate.com.
“This isn’t just payroll; it’s one of the most intricate fintech challenges a company can face,” said Gokul Rajaram. “Niural’s approach is fundamentally new—built from scratch as an AI-native fintech stack. That gives them a speed of innovation and precision I’ve rarely seen at this stage.”
Nami Baral, who previously founded the AI-driven fintech platform Harvest and served in leadership roles across tech and finance, stated: “Niural sits at the intersection of transformative shifts: global teams, AI automation, and intelligent financial systems. Our platform is turning a system of record into a system of intelligence.”
Nabin Banskota, drawing from his years as a CFO managing multinational operations, added, “This is the dream platform for finance leaders who are scaling globally. Companies come for payroll but stay because we replace up to six fragmented tools with one cohesive system.”
Editorial View: A New Category of Enterprise Infrastructure
Niural is emerging as one of the most credible contenders in building what could be the next critical SaaS category—AI-native finance and people infrastructure. As enterprises scale globally, the demand for seamless compliance, real-time data integrity, and embedded intelligence will only intensify. The company’s decision to begin with the PEO model is strategic, capturing both operational complexity and recurring revenue, while building trust in markets where legacy vendors dominate by inertia rather than innovation.
The founders’ complementary strengths—Baral’s product and AI expertise, and Banskota’s CFO perspective—position Niural uniquely. Unlike incumbents trying to retrofit AI onto legacy systems, Niural was architected with automation and interoperability at its core. If execution continues at its current pace, Niural could become a foundational platform for high-growth companies managing complex, international operations.
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