After graduating from Cornell University, Christophe Gerlach spent nearly two years investing exclusively in HR tech startups for General Atlantic. While investing was exciting, Gerlach felt a strong desire to return to entrepreneurship.
During his time at Cornell, Gerlach built and sold a food delivery startup alongside his classmate Pedro Bobrow, a native of Brazil. Then in late 2022, Gerlach and Bobrow, who was previously a product manager at Lyft, teamed up once more. They combined their sector expertise and cultural roots to launch Comp, an HR tech startup focused on Brazil.
Comp is building AI-powered HR software designed to assist with tasks like recruiting, setting compensation policies, and designing performance review systems. The startup also provides what it calls “forward-deployed” experts. These are former HR executives who work directly with customers to design strategies for compensation, performance, and recruiting.
While companies in Brazil often hire compensation consultants, Gerlach emphasizes that Comp’s forward-deployed HR executives should not be viewed as consultants. Instead, they act as extensions of a company’s existing HR teams.
These executives also play a critical role in refining Comp’s technology. Gerlach explains that the forward-deployed HR executives do all the work manually at first. They then use that work to train the AI on best practices. The long-term idea is for Comp’s AI agents to become fully autonomous and capable of performing traditional HR functions.
While Comp currently offers AI-supported HR services augmented by human professionals, its ultimate goal is to displace both traditional consultancies and conventional HR software. As Gerlach puts it, companies like Rippling sell software to junior HR teams to make them more productive, but Comp aims to become the HR team itself.
To that end, Comp recently raised a $17.25 million Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures. This investment marks the venture capital firm’s first-ever investment in a Brazilian company. As part of the deal, Khosla general partner Keith Rabois has joined Comp’s board of directors.
Comp positions itself as an AI-driven alternative to traditional compensation consultancies such as 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 there lack traditional HR software. This situation allowed the startup to introduce a new, automated model rather than competing directly with established platforms. This business model appears to be gaining traction, with clients including Nubank, QuintoAndar, Creditas, and, according to Gerlach, pretty much every unicorn in Brazil. The startup is now planning an expansion into the United States and other countries.
Other investors in Comp’s Series A round included existing backers Kaszek and Canary, as well as new investors Abstract Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst.