FaceUp Raises $5 Million Series A to Turn Compliance from a “Checkbox” into a Real-Time Ethics & Compliance System

Trusted by 3,600+ organizations like Mercedes-Benz and Zendesk, FaceUp helps companies move from reactive reporting to proactive risk prevention

CHARLESTON, S.C. — May 19, 2026 — Companies have spent years treating compliance as a checkbox, something to satisfy regulators after issues arise. That model is changing. FaceUp, a leading secure Ethics & Compliance platform for mid-size and enterprise companies, today announced it has raised $5 million in Series A funding to help organizations surface and resolve issues before they escalate.

The round was led by Fil Rouge Capital, with participation from JIC Ventures, Venture to Future Fund and Gi21 Capital. The raise also included strong participation from returning investors, Tilia Impact Ventures (supported by the InvestEU Fund) and Reflex Capital, alongside a group of angel investors and employees, demonstrating their continued confidence in FaceUp’s growth. With this latest investment, FaceUp has raised approximately $9 million to date.

The compliance market is shifting from legacy reactive solutions to systems that identify issues earlier. Trusted across 70+ countries by 3,600 organizations, including Zendesk, Vercel, Heineken, Taco Bell, Sephora, KFC and Mercedes-Benz, FaceUp has already processed more than 44,000 reports through its platform, helping customers curb harassment, fraud and misconduct in the workplace. 

In a single system, the platform combines:

• Anonymous reporting: provides secure, end-to-end encrypted multi-channel reporting that reduces regulatory risk
• Structured case management with built-in investigations: allows users to manage routing, investigations and outcomes with standardized workflows across teams and locations
• Audit-readiness on demand: enables full audit trails, automated SLA tracking and one-click compliance reporting instead of weeks-long "document hunts"
• AI-powered hotline: A multilingual, 24/7 next-gen hotline that turns every call, complete with human-like dialogue, into a structured, actionable report
• Surveys: actively identifies risks even before employees decide to report them
• External support team: Through a global network of partners, the team guides users through compliance needs and how FaceUp can help tackle them  

“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 CEO of FaceUp.

Fueling the next phase of growth

With an already-strong international presence, FaceUp will focus on deepening its product capabilities and strengthening its position against legacy governance, risk and compliance providers.

The new funding will support three key strategic priorities:

• Expansion into a full Ethics & Compliance suite - FaceUp is building a modular, all-in-one solution by enhancing its core case management capabilities and introducing new modules for investigations, disclosure management (including conflicts of interest, gifts and outside business activities) and policy management. This brings Ethics & Compliance workflows into a single, secure environment instead of fragmented spreadsheets.
• Customer acquisition and partnerships - FaceUp will scale its marketing-led motion targeting mid-market and enterprise organizations, while growing its partner ecosystem through integrations and reseller channels.
• Expansion acceleration in the U.S., UAE and beyond - FaceUp will double down on the U.S. as its primary growth market and expand in the United Arab Emirates, where demand for modern compliance standards is rapidly increasing.

Investor confidence in FaceUp’s growth

A Croatia-founded venture firm, Fil Rouge Capital brings deep operational and scaling expertise to the round, managing $117 million (€100 million) in assets and backing more than 170 startups across SaaS, fintech, AI and compliance-adjacent sectors. Tilia Impact Ventures, a Prague-based impact fund, focuses on companies where social impact is core to the business model.

“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.

“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.

"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 organizations, 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.

“FaceUp’s transition of compliance from a mere checkbox into a proactive, real-time AI system perfectly aligns with our investment thesis at Gi21 Capital. We are proud to support Jan and the team as they scale this critical infrastructure globally to foster safer, more ethical workplaces,”

said Damir Špoljarič, Managing Partner, Gi21 Capital

For more information, visit https://www.faceup.com/en. 

About FaceUp

Founded by Jan Slama, David Spunar and Pavel Ihm, FaceUp is the all-in-one platform for whistleblowing, ethics and compliance, helping organizations foster trust, ethics, safety and integrity while protecting their reputation, employees, resources and culture. FaceUp is now used across 70+ countries by over 3,600 organizations, including Zendesk, Heineken, Taco Bell, Sephora, KFC, Vercel and Mercedes-Benz, more than 1,700 companies and is available for free to schools in the Czech Republic.

Media Contact

Caroline Kamerschen

prforfaceup@bospar.com