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§ Private Profile · Paris, France
A freelance labor marketplace connecting self-employed hospitality and food service professionals with temporary assignments for businesses.
Brigad has raised $38.8M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at Brigad.
Brigad has raised $38.8M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Based in Paris, France, Brigad operates a digital freelance labor marketplace that connects self-employed hospitality and healthcare professionals with short-term work assignments. The platform utilizes an application-based matching system to send independent workers flexible job propositions that align with their specific profiles and scheduling preferences. Supported by a corporate workforce of 150 employees, the company generates approximately $62.8 million in annual revenue by serving over 12,000 enterprise customers across France and the United Kingdom. Launched in January 2016, Brigad has secured $32.3 million in total venture capital financing, highlighted by a recent $30 million Series B funding round led by Balderton Capital to support its ongoing geographic expansion. Originally focused exclusively on the food service industry, the platform has recently broadened its operational scope to accommodate temporary staffing demands within the medical and social care sectors.
Key people at Brigad.
Brigad has raised $38.8M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $30.0M Series B in February 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2023 | $30M Series B | Balderton Capital | Crystal Huang, PandaDoc, Andrey Doronichev, Darius Cheung, Serena Capital, Square Capital, Wendel | Announced |
| Feb 1, 2018 | $4M Series A | — | 50 Partners | Announced |
| Mar 6, 2017 | $2.3M Series A | — | 50 Partners, Square Capital | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2017 | $2M Seed | — | 50 Partners | Announced |
| Jul 1, 2016 | $500K Seed | — | 50 Partners | Announced |
Brigad is a technology platform that operates a marketplace connecting self-employed professionals in hospitality and healthcare with businesses needing on-demand, short-term workers. It serves restaurants, caterers, private clinics, retirement homes, and hospitals by matching vetted freelancers—such as waiters, chefs, bartenders, and care workers—with missions based on location, skills, and availability, solving staffing shortages through rapid digital matching, invoicing, payments, and administrative handling.[1][2][3][6] The platform enables flexibility for workers via features like weekly payments, skill evolution programs, and access to higher-paying roles, while businesses save time and costs by avoiding traditional HR processes; in 2022, it managed 200,000 missions across 10,000 organizations, with healthcare now at 25% of activity and backed by $32.3M in funding including a $30M round in 2023.[2][4]
Brigad was founded in 2015 (launched in 2016) by Florent Malbranche, who serves as CEO, alongside co-founders, emerging from the challenge of helping restaurants and bars in France quickly find qualified staff for punctual shifts while empowering blue-collar workers as freelancers.[1][3][4] The idea stemmed from recognizing the difficulty businesses faced in hiring short-term employees in hospitality, leading to a platform that initially focused on this sector before expanding to healthcare a couple of years ago and geographically to the UK in 2018 (Paris and Lyon earlier).[2][3] Early traction included support from Uber Technologies as an investor and France's #1 startup accelerator 50Partners, navigating gig economy regulations and scaling amid EU scrutiny on freelancer platforms.[1][3]
Brigad rides the gig economy wave in skilled blue-collar sectors, capitalizing on post-pandemic labor shortages in hospitality (e.g., scheduling gaps for waitstaff) and healthcare (e.g., clinics/hospitals), where flexibility trumps desk-based freelancing amid evolving EU self-employment laws.[2][3] Timing aligns with rising demand for on-demand platforms amid talent scarcity—hospitality as a key economy driver and healthcare's growth—positioning it ahead of pure temp agencies by emphasizing vetted skills over untrained labor.[2][5] It influences the ecosystem by normalizing freelance models for non-office work, fostering corporate social responsibility through liberated lifestyles and accessible opportunities, while competing amicably with niche players like Mediflash in regional healthcare.[2][5][7]
Brigad is poised to deepen penetration in France and the UK by doubling organizations and freelancers in hospitality/healthcare, potentially exploring adjacent verticals or geographies as per 2019 strategic debates, fueled by its 2023 $30M raise and 200k+ missions momentum.[2][3] Trends like AI-enhanced matching, regulatory shifts favoring platforms, and sustained sector shortages will propel growth toward its mission of making work "accessible and attractive to all" as Europe's leading matcher.[5][6] Its influence may evolve from niche disruptor to ecosystem shaper, empowering flexible careers in hands-on industries and redefining blue-collar freelancing.
Brigad has raised $38.8M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Brigad's investors include Balderton Capital, Crystal Huang, PandaDoc, Andrey Doronichev, Darius Cheung, Serena Capital, Square Capital, Wendel, 50 Partners.
