Job&Talent Secures $103M in Down Round, Pivots to AI-Driven Recruitment

Jobandtalent raises $103M on a down-round $1.5B valuation as it looks to AI to recruit temps | TechCrunch

Jobandtalent, an AI-based "workforce as a service" marketplace that connects people with companies looking for hourly workers, announced it has raised €92 million ($103 million). The Series F -- which includes participation from Atomico, BlackRock, DN Capital, Hercules, Infravia, Kibo, and Kinnevik -- values the Madrid, Spain-based company at €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) post-money. On the surface, a unicorn raising a decent round of funding from a well-known list of backers might sound like pretty strong news. The reality is a little different. This is a down round for the company. Jobandtalent, which has operations in 10 countries in Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, last raised money in December 2021, a Series E of $500 million that valued it at $2.35 billion. We've asked for a comment from the company on why it's valuation received a haircut of almost $1 billion. Some of the reasoning may be a reflection of the European startup scene at the moment. On the plus side: Jobandtalent was the beneficiary of strong tailwinds over the years. It came into its own in the years around Covid-19, when both businesses and workers were unsure of what was coming around the corner and gravitated to working arrangements that afforded more flexibility. Certain sectors, like e-commerce and the wider ecosystem of delivery and logistics around it, were positively booming and needed to fill lots of roles, fast. It was an especially flush times for particular kinds of roles, and Jobandtalent found a willing audience of businesses and workers taking to its platform to connect to each other. The company says over the years it has placed more than 300,000 workers in roles at more than 3,250 companies, with a particular emphasis on sectors like logistics and retail. Tthe company's funding news today is coming at an unsettling time: the European labor market since the Covid-19 pandemic has been buffeted by a number of opposing economic waves. Skills and people shortages have spelled opportunity for those who can fill the gaps; yet declining corporate profits and a stagnating Eurozone economy could spell tougher times ahead. And that's before you consider what kind of impact AI might have. It's still unproven, but businesses and governments are staking a lot on AI being a cost-effective solution for some kinds of work, and that too could spell bad news for certain jobs. Jobandtalent is sitting in a strange position in that regard. The company's bread and butter remains the human workforce, but it's also leaning into ways it too can use AI to be more "work efficient." The company says that the new injection of equity will be used to scale the business internationally, and to invest in building a series of AI-powered agents into the platform to support that. The first of these is called Clara, an agent focused on recruitment. In a test with a limited number of clients, Clara has conducted no less than 180,000 interviews, the company said, contributing to some 7,000 hires, and "helping deliver industry-leading fill rates, even during peak periods of demand." Jobandtalent says that the fill rates are "equivalent to the output of thousands of recruiters." Jobandtalent said it plans to launch further agents this year to cover other functions previously handled by humans. "This capital injection reaffirms our shared vision for the future of Job&Talent," Juan Urdiales, the startup's cofounder and co-CEO, said in a statement. "Thanks to the platform we have built over the past years, we are now well-positioned to evolve into a fully integrated employment platform that helps companies manage their temporary and internal workforces more efficiently. Our next-generation AI agents will bring major improvements in productivity, provide better opportunities for workers, and unlock crucial cost savings for companies."

Job&Talent raises EUR 92 million funding to accelerate AI-powered growth

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity NewsletterThe funding round was backed by a powerful lineup of investors - including Atomico, BlackRock, DN Capital, Hercules, Infravia, Kibo, and Kinnevik.The funds will be used to drive international expansion, scale sales, and accelerate product development - with a strong focus on AI-powered features and automation.Job&Talent is now leveraging its AI-driven platform to deliver measurable productivity gains for clients and set new standards in workforce management. MADRID, April 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Job&Talent, a world-leading marketplace for essential work and AI-powered workforce management provider, today announces the successful closing of its Series F fundraising round, securing EUR 92 million in equity financing to accelerate the next generation of workforce management. The round, which values the company at EUR 1.3 billion, included participation from new and existing investors such as Atomico, BlackRock, DN Capital, Hercules, Infravia, Kibo, and Kinnevik among others. This new funding will fuel Job&Talent's long-term strategic goals, including accelerating international growth and major advances in AI-powered technology. The company will invest heavily in sales and product development, with a strong focus on expanding its AI capabilities to enhance workforce reliability and productivity for clients. As part of its innovation strategy, Job&Talent is developing a suite of AI agents, each designed to simplify and optimize a specific aspect of workforce management, supporting candidates, workers, and supervisors alike. These intelligent agents are trained using invaluable operational data from over 1 million worker placements and millions of logged shifts across the platform, including performance metrics, shift management, absenteeism, and more. The AI agents -- whose expertise ranges from recruiter to account manager and attendance coach -- work across text, voice, and video to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, as well as proactively supporting employers to hire more efficiently, manage their workforce with greater control, and significantly reduce operational costs. For example, agents can call unlimited candidates within minutes of application, anticipate staffing needs and automate shift planning, and proactively manage attendance by detecting no-shows in real-time. The first AI agent launched was Clara, Job&Talent's recruitment agent. Currently being tested with select clients, Clara has already conducted over 180,000 interviews in just a few months, equivalent to the output of thousands of recruiters, and has directly contributed to more than 7,000 hires, helping deliver industry-leading fill rates, even during peak periods of demand. With multiple agents already in beta testing, the company plans to launch more agents throughout the year to address different areas of workforce management. This year, the company will also expand access to its platform and AI agents to include permanent workers, enabling companies to benefit from its capabilities and cost savings across their entire workforce -- not just those staffed by Job&Talent. The rollout is starting with select existing clients and will be available to all companies in the second half of the year. With this expansion, Job&Talent extends its value proposition to the entire frontline workforce, offering companies the flexibility to seamlessly hire and manage both temporary and permanent workers through a single, integrated platform. Over the past two years, Job&Talent has successfully navigated a challenging macroeconomic environment by prioritizing profitability, operational efficiency, and product innovation. In 2024 alone, Job&Talent placed over 300,000 workers globally in more than 3,250 companies in key sectors such as logistics, warehousing, and retail. Since launching in 2021, the US has steadily grown to become Job&Talent's largest and fastest-growing market, demonstrating a +27% YoY revenue increase in Q4 2024. This growth was driven by a nation-wide rollout of its technology-driven workforce management platform. Earlier this year, the company expanded platform availability to all 10 countries in which it operates, reinforcing its global footprint. Juan Urdiales, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Job&Talent, said: "This capital injection reaffirms our shared vision for the future of Job&Talent. Thanks to the platform we have built over the past years, we are now well-positioned to evolve into a fully integrated employment platform that helps companies manage their temporary and internal workforces more efficiently. Our next-generation AI agents will bring major improvements in productivity, provide better opportunities for workers, and unlock crucial cost savings for companies." MEDIA CONTACT Kingsum Li Senior Manager, Global Communications press@jobandtalent.com ABOUT JOB&TALENT Job&Talent is a world-leading marketplace for essential work, matching great people with great companies directly through its platform. Founded in 2009, its mission is to empower workers by offering stability, faster job placements and fair treatment, while supporting companies with efficient workforce management solutions. The AI-enabled platform streamlines and automates workforce management, helping businesses achieve higher productivity and workforce reliability. In 2024, Job&Talent placed over 300,000 workers in more than 3,250 companies across industries like logistics and retail. Headquartered in Madrid, Job&Talent operates in 10 countries across Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, backed by leading investors such as Atomico, Kinnevik and SoftBank. For more information, please visit www.jobandtalent.com. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f253c25b-7d6e-40f8-9c86-8273d3ff3189 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e37f5d82-119e-4434-a24d-1fb81a0afa25 Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs