---
title: "Allegations involving other competitors"
language: en
canonical: https://dossiertwist.com/dossiers/deel/other-competitors/
as_of: 2026-10-13
keywords: ["Deel","Deel, Inc.","Lifeslice, Inc.","Alex Bouaziz","Philippe Bouaziz","Shuo Wang","Dan Westgarth","Rippling","People Center, Inc.","Keith O'Brien","Lets Deel Ltd","Atlantic Money","Deel Payments Europe","DPayments","Omnipresent","Sarona Ventures","Prodware","Andreessen Horowitz","employer of record","Rippling v. Deel"]
---

# Allegations involving other competitors

**Question.** Does Rippling allege that Deel targeted companies other than Rippling, and what is known about those accounts?

**Answer.** Rippling's amended complaint says Deel targeted four other competitors and calls Deel a "criminal syndicate". It names the crypto-payroll company Toku, whose own suit against Deel's partner LiquiFi, according to Rippling, accused Deel's chief executive of taking part, and describes an unnamed start-up accelerator whose former employees allegedly took its customer database to Deel. It also cites a Papaya Global co-founder's statement that the affair was "not a one-off incident". Deel called the amended complaint a rehash. None of these accounts has been tested in court; in 2026 Deel opened a proceeding to compel Papaya Global to comply with a subpoena.

## Rippling's account of other targets

- Analysis: A technology news outlet reported in June 2025 that Rippling's amended complaint accuses Deel of targeting four other competitors besides Rippling, naming only Toku, and calls Deel a "criminal syndicate"; Deel's spokesperson described the amended filing as a rehash of earlier accusations. The complaint also alleges that a start-up accelerator, unnamed, which had an exclusivity arrangement with Deel, found that two of its employees whom Deel hired in 2022 and 2023 had taken its customer database to Deel, and that when confronted Deel cited its large legal budget and said it would vigorously oppose any claim. The complaint says the evidence for these accounts would be produced once subpoenas are issued; no court has ruled on them. [src-057] [src-065]
- Analysis: According to Rippling, Toku (WorkCo, Inc.) sued its competitor LiquiFi for trade-secret misappropriation in December 2024 and in April 2025 sought a preliminary injunction alleging that Deel's chief executive took part in the scheme; LiquiFi had partnered with Deel in September 2024 to offer crypto-based tax and payroll services. The Toku filings themselves are not retained, so these are allegations as reported by Rippling. [src-065]

## Papaya Global

- Analysis: Papaya Global, a platform for managing and paying global workforces, is ranked by a start-up data aggregator as the second competitor of the Deel brand. Rippling's complaint cites a public statement by its co-founder Eynat Guez that the affair was "not a one-off incident" and that Alex Bouaziz had asked a relative of a Papaya co-founder to pass on information about Papaya, and it alleges that Deel leaked a false bid to acquire Papaya Global in the same week that a large Deel payout client was charged with fraud by the CFTC. Neither is a finding. The record contains no Deel response to Guez's statement; in June 2026 Deel opened a proceeding in Delaware federal court to compel Papaya Global to comply with a subpoena, whose subject is not in the retained record. [src-088] [src-065]
- Analysis: The proceeding, Deel, Inc. v. Papaya Global Inc. (D. Del., No. 1:26-mc-00327), opened on 30 June 2026, and Deel filed a reply brief on 18 August 2026. The filings are not retained, and the outcome is not known from the record. [src-084]

## Sources

- [src-057] Media source · src-057
- [src-065] Court record source · src-065
- [src-088] Research source · src-088
- [src-084] Court record source · src-084