FaceUp raises USD $5 million to expand compliance suite

FaceUp has raised USD $5 million in a Series A round led by Fil Rouge Capital, bringing the ethics and compliance software company's total funding to about USD $9 million.

The round also included JIC Ventures, Venture to Future Fund and Gi21 Capital, alongside returning investors Tilia Impact Ventures and Reflex Capital, as well as angel investors and employees. The company will use the money to expand its product, build partner and reseller channels, and grow its presence in the US and the UAE.

FaceUp sells a whistleblowing and ethics platform that helps businesses handle reports of bullying, harassment, fraud and other misconduct. More than 3,600 organisations use the system in over 70 countries, including Zendesk, Vercel, Heineken, Taco Bell, Sephora, KFC and Mercedes-Benz.

Its platform has processed more than 44,000 reports. The software includes anonymous reporting, case management tools, audit tracking, surveys and a multilingual hotline that converts calls into structured reports.

Growth plans

The new funding will support a push beyond whistleblowing into a broader ethics and compliance suite. FaceUp plans to add modules for investigations, disclosure management covering conflicts of interest, gifts and outside business activities, and policy management.

The company is also aiming to grow through direct customer acquisition and partner channels. That includes more integrations and reseller arrangements as it targets mid-market and larger organisations.

The US will remain a priority market, while FaceUp also plans to step up activity in the UAE, where it sees rising demand for modern compliance standards.

Founded by Jan Slama, David Spunar and Pavel Ihm, the business began in 2017 as a non-profit anti-bullying initiative for schools, based on the founders' own experiences. It later moved into the corporate market and launched a commercial compliance product in 2020.

Its customer base now spans companies and schools. Half of the 1.3 million people covered by its system are students, according to the company.

"I'm really excited about this growth investment, as it will allow us to move even faster toward our vision of becoming the leading solution for ethical and compliant workplaces worldwide. It will help us not only increase our ARR, expand our team and boost our product, but, most importantly, support even more organizations around the world in fostering trust, ethics, safety and integrity, while protecting their reputation, employees, resources and culture," said Jan Slama, Co-founder and Chief Executive of FaceUp.

Investor backing

Fil Rouge Capital, which led the round, is a Croatia-founded venture firm that manages €100 million in assets and has backed more than 170 startups across software, financial technology, artificial intelligence and related sectors. Existing investor Tilia Impact Ventures also participated.

"FaceUp is addressing a critical need in the compliance and governance space with a solution that is both scalable and highly relevant across markets. The team has demonstrated strong execution, evolving from a focused use case into a global SaaS platform with clear product-market fit. We're pleased to support them as they continue to scale internationally and further develop their offering," said Roger Blott, Founding Partner at Fil Rouge Capital.

Tilia Impact Ventures said FaceUp's commercial growth is matched by its reported social impact.

"It was really a no-brainer for us to participate in the Series A as FaceUp continues delivering on its vision to become an Ethics & Compliance leader. We see that strong business growth is naturally coupled with impact metrics: 1.3 million people in 70 countries are protected, half of whom are students at schools. Toxic environments at the workplace and schools caused by bossing, infighting, bullying or fraud negatively affect people's mental health. With thousands of misconduct cases reported via FaceUp to date, I'm really happy FaceUp is making a difference," said Petr Vítek, Co-founder and Partner at Tilia Impact Ventures.

Other backers also highlighted the company's growth from its Czech roots into an international business.

"We have been working with Jan and the FaceUp team from the very beginning, from a student project at JIC innovation agency. They have built one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the Czech Republic, with a presence in more than 70 countries. FaceUp offers the best solution on the market for safe reporting of unethical conduct and corporate compliance. The company's potential for the years ahead is extraordinary," said Radim Kocourek, Managing Partner at JIC Ventures.

"Most products in this field are deployed to satisfy regulation, but see limited real usage. FaceUp shows genuine adoption and engagement within organisations, and that's what drives long-term value and ultimately defines the winners in this category," said Miriama Hanout, Investment Manager and Board Member at Venture to Future Fund.