New York, New York
Rise, the global payroll, compliance, and workforce platform for modern teams, today announced expanded Employer of Record coverage to help AI startups hire full-time employees internationally without setting up local legal entities.
The expansion gives AI startups a faster way to access top global talent across key hiring markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Cyprus, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Rise’s broader EOR rollout is continuing through 2026, giving fast-scaling AI companies more flexibility in how they build compliant international teams.
As AI startups compete globally for engineers, researchers, product operators, and go-to-market talent, international hiring has become a core part of how these companies scale.
Rise’s EOR infrastructure is built to remove the delays and complexity of local incorporation, employment setup, payroll registration, and ongoing labor law administration so startups can focus on hiring the right people faster.
Since launch, Rise has enabled companies to hire, onboard, and pay global teams across 190+ countries using both local currencies and crypto rails.
With EOR, AOR, and contractor payment infrastructure under one platform, Rise is giving AI startups a more unified way to manage both full-time employees and independent contractors as their teams evolve.
Hiring for AI Startups, Without Local Entities
Rise’s Employer of Record model allows AI startups to hire full-time employees in supported countries without opening a local entity.
Rise handles employment contracts, payroll operations, tax documentation, onboarding workflows, and local labor law compliance, while the startup manages the employee’s day-to-day work.
Why Rise EOR Is Built for AI Startups
Rise Employer of Record for AI startups is a strong fit because it combines compliant global hiring with the funding and payout flexibility modern AI teams actually need.
AI trainer roles grew 283% cross-border in 2025, and more than 70,000 workers were already training AI systems globally by the end of the year, which means startups need faster access to international talent, not slower local-entity setup.
Rise lets companies hire without opening a local entity, fund payroll by USD bank transfer or USDC/USDT, and let employees withdraw in local currency, stablecoins, crypto, or a split on each cycle.
That is a materially stronger operating model than legacy EOR structures built around fixed payroll rails.
The scale is already proven: Rise has processed $1.37B+ in lifetime payroll volume, including $776.98M in the last 12 months alone, with stablecoin withdrawals exceeding deposits by $154.5M, showing real demand for flexible, cross-border payroll infrastructure at production scale.
Built for Global, Flexible Payroll
Rise combines compliant employment infrastructure with hybrid payroll capabilities that fit the operating model of many AI startups.
Employers can fund payroll in USD, USDC, or USDT, while workers can withdraw in local currency, stablecoins, or other supported crypto assets depending on their preferences.
Rise also handles KYC, AML, and tax-related documentation as part of the broader onboarding and payment flow.
From Contractors to Employees on One Platform
Many AI startups begin with international contractors before converting key hires into full-time employees.
Rise supports both models through its Agent of Record and Employer of Record infrastructure, giving startups a clearer path from early contractor-based hiring to long-term employee expansion.
This helps teams reduce fragmentation across vendors while staying aligned with the right compliance model for each worker type.
- EOR supports full-time employees.
- AOR is designed for independent contractors and contractor classification workflows.
Rise’s Vision for Global AI Hiring
The acceleration of AI hiring has changed how startups think about talent access.
Companies are no longer building teams in one geography first and expanding later. They are hiring globally from the start, and they need employment infrastructure that matches that reality.
“With AI startups, speed matters across every function, including hiring,” said Hugo Finkelstein, CEO of Rise. “Our EOR expansion is about helping these companies hire the best people in the right markets without getting blocked by entity setup, payroll friction, or local compliance complexity.”
About Rise
Rise is a global payroll, compliance, and workforce infrastructure platform that enables businesses to hire, onboard, and pay employees and contractors across 190+ countries using fiat and crypto payment rails.
Rise’s products include Employer of Record, Agent of Record, and Global Contractor Pay.
For more information, visit riseworks.io.
Media Contact
Hugo Finkelstein, CEO & Co-founder of Rise
+19174557310
Last modified: April 9, 2026
