By Krystal Hu

May 9 (Reuters) - HR software startup Rippling said on Friday it raised $450 million in a Series G funding round, valuing the company at $16.8 billion, as it expands its workforce management products and focuses on growing revenue globally over profitability.

Y Combinator, Elad Gil, Sands Capital, GIC and Goldman Sachs Growth, along with other existing investors, participated in the round. In addition to the primary financing, the San Francisco-based startup also plans to repurchase up to $200 million of equity from current and former employees through a tender offer.

Rippling's CEO Praker Conrad said the tender offer is likely to be an annual event, joining a growing list of high-profile private companies that don't want to go public yet but still want to offer ways for employees and early investors to cash out.

"I think the company would really need to be profitable before we go public," Conrad said in an interview. "We don't have any specific plans to go public. But I think we're at a scale where we want to try to create liquidity opportunities for employees and for investors."

This round, which values the company higher than its previous valuation of $13.5 billion in early 2024, faced an unexpected challenge due to its timing, as it was launched weeks before President Trump's tariff announcement, which has caused major volatility in the stock market. It also came amid ongoing legal disputes with competitor Deel, in which Deel was accused of corporate espionage.

Rippling, while not profitable, said it has well surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue and now serves over 20,000 customers with its expanding suite of more than 20 products spanning HR, IT and finance management, and plans to use the proceeds to invest in the core products.

"We're fortunate that we're still growing at a pretty fast pace. For us, the trade-off is always like, well, we could be profitable if we grew more slowly. And right now, the decision is that we want to keep growing," said Conrad.

Founded in 2016, Rippling's platform integrates workforce management services including payroll, benefits and corporate card services. International expansion has been a key driver of growth for the company amid increasing demand for HR solutions that can manage distributed workforces across multiple countries.

Rippling recently filed a lawsuit against Deel, alleging corporate espionage and other improper business practices. A former Rippling employee confessed to spying for Deel Inc, according to an affidavit made public in an Irish court in April.

The litigation has drawn attention to competitive practices and raised questions about ethical standards in the tech industry.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Susan Fenton)