Vahan.ai Secures $10 Million in Series B Funding Led by Khosla Ventures

Blue-collar recruitment platform Vahan.ai secures $10 mn funding in Series B led by Khosla Ventures

Vahan.ai, an AI-powered recruitment platform for India's massive blue-collar workforce, has rasied $10 million in series B funding. This funding round was led by Khosla Ventures, founded by Vinod Khosla along with Y Combinator, US-based VC firm Gaingels, and Indian tech entrepreneur Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm, amongst others. The funds raised will be used to develop AI recruitment technology to support 8 major Indian languages. The Bengaluru-based startup, is a technology-driven platform that helps blue-collar workers find jobs and employers the right candidate. To date, the company has placed more than 500,000 workers across more than 480 cities. Founded in 2016, the major clients include Zomato, Swiggy, Flipkart, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, Rapido and Uber. With over 25,000 recruits each month, Vahan.ai significantly reduces costs and turnaround for recruitment, setting a new standard in how AI can revolutionise hiring processes and drive large-scale employment. With India's blue-collar workers poised to drive 70 per cent of India's new job growth by 2030, Vahan.ai is leveraging Artificial Intelligence to bridge the access gap between employers and blue-collar workers. "We have come a long way from providing 600 jobs a month during the pandemic to 25,000 jobs a month now. With our impact growing multi-fold, we are excited to drive positive change and help the youth of Bharat find employment," said Madhav Krishna, Founder and CEO. "This funding will enable us to further leverage AI, to provide these workers with unprecedented growth opportunities and elevate their professional journeys. Over time, we want to help over a billion people find livelihood." SHARE Copy linkEmailFacebookTwitterTelegramLinkedInWhatsAppRedditPublished on September 20, 2024

Leading AI-powered Blue Collar recruitment platform Vahan.ai secures $10 million funding in Series B led by Khosla Ventures; Moves closer to its endeavour of providing employment opportunities to 1 billion people

The Series B funding round is led by investor Khosla Ventures and also featuring investments from Y Combinator, American venture capital firm Gaingels and Paytm's Vijay Shekhar SharmaThe funds raised will be used to develop AI recruitment technology to support 8 major Indian languagesWith India's blue-collar workers poised to drive 70% of India's new job growth by 2030, Vahan.ai is leveraging Artificial Intelligence to bridge the access gap between employers and blue-collar workers. Vahan.ai, an AI-powered recruitment platform for India's massive blue-collar workforce, announced its Series B funding of USD 10 million. This funding comes from a consortium of esteemed investors, led by Khosla Ventures, founded by Vinod Khosla -- one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence in 2024 -- along with Y Combinator, US-based VC firm Gaingels, and Indian tech entrepreneur Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm, amongst others. Based in Bengaluru, Vahan.ai is at the forefront of empowering India's blue-collar workforce through innovative AI solutions. Since its founding, the company has pioneered the use of AI in blue-collar recruitment, placing over 500,000 workers in more than 480 cities with leading companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, Flipkart, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, Rapido and Uber. With over 25,000 recruits each month, Vahan.ai significantly reduces costs and turnaround for recruitment, setting a new standard in how AI can revolutionise hiring processes and drive large-scale employment. With approximately 81 million people in urban India living below the poverty line, the stakes are high. Many hardworking individuals struggle to find well-paying jobs beyond their limited networks, and for them, Vahan.ai offers more than just employment -- it provides a lifeline. By helping over 500,000 individuals secure jobs, Vahan.ai has enabled these workers and their families to achieve greater stability, sending their children to school, accessing better healthcare, and securing daily necessities. This impact ripples through their communities, enhancing purchasing power and contributing to broader economic growth. "Each placement is more than a job; it's a step towards a more secure and hopeful future.", says Madhav Krishna, Founder and CEO of Vahan.ai. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat@2047, Vahan.ai is committed to leveraging AI to unlock employment opportunities for India's diverse demographic. The gig economy, particularly driven by the blue-collar workforce, has seen tremendous growth since the pandemic. While the gig workforce in India grew at an estimated 13% annually in the initial years post-pandemic, projections indicate that by 2032, over 90 million jobs will be in the gig sector, with the value of services exceeding USD 250 billion, contributing approximately 1.25% to India's GDP. This new funding represents a significant milestone for Vahan.ai, fueling its plans to expand into industries such as Manufacturing and Retail. Manufacturing, a key pillar of the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision, is projected to grow from 15% of India's GDP to over 25%, adding USD 320 billion in gross value added (GVA). Meanwhile, the retail sector is expected to expand from USD 779 billion in 2019 to over USD 2 trillion by 2032, with e-commerce alone growing at an annual rate of 11.45% to reach USD 91 billion by 2029, and the FMCG sector expected to be worth approximately USD 616 billion by 2027. To capitalise on these growth trends, Vahan.ai will also invest in advancing its AI technology. Currently, Vahan's AI Recruiter conducts interviews in English and Hindi, with plans to support eight major Indian languages and numerous dialects within the next year, making the platform even more accessible and inclusive. "We have come a long way from providing 600 jobs a month during the pandemic to 25,000 jobs a month now. With our impact growing multi-fold, we are excited to drive positive change and help the youth of Bharat find employment," said Madhav Krishna, Founder and CEO. "This funding will enable us to further leverage AI, to provide these workers with unprecedented growth opportunities and elevate their professional journeys. Over time, we want to help over a billion people find livelihood." Reflecting on the recent investment, Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures, said, "Vahan.ai has consistently demonstrated a commitment to leveraging AI in a way that goes beyond mere technology -- it's about creating real-world impact. As an early supporter, I've seen firsthand how their innovative approach is redefining recruitment for the blue-collar workforce in India. AI has the power to shift paradigms, transforming challenges into opportunities. Vahan.ai stands out by not only reducing the effort in repetitive tasks but by providing meaningful, scalable solutions that open doors for millions." Addressing the fundraise, Paul Grossinger, Co-founder of Gaingels, stated, "Gaingels is excited to back Vahan.ai as they harness AI to create tangible impact in underserved segments. Vahan.ai's approach to applying technology where it matters most aligns perfectly with our mission to support businesses that drive meaningful change in local communities." Vahan.ai started when Madhav, who holds a Masters in Artificial Intelligence from Columbia University, left his job in the United States to return to India in 2016 to build a recruitment platform for blue-collar workers in India. As Vahan.ai secures this new round of funding, the company is poised to amplify its mission of driving positive change, fostering inclusive growth, and creating meaningful job opportunities for India's blue-collar workforce. With unwavering support from its investors and stakeholders, Vahan.ai continues to empower the youth of Bharat, using AI to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity, and to build a future where every worker has the chance to thrive. Looking forward to hearing from you :) About Vahan.ai: Vahan.ai is India's leading AI-powered recruitment platform for blue-collar workers, encompassing the food, grocery, quick-commerce and e-commerce delivery sectors. The platform is at the forefront of connecting businesses with the workforce needed to fuel the growth of India. It has established itself as the market leader in the gig-economy recruitment space, leveraging AI to streamline the hiring process for high-volume blue-collar jobs. It was also named the 'Technology Pioneer' by the World Economic Forum in May 2022.

Vahan Nets $10 Mn To Bolster Its AI Play For Blue-Collar Workforce

Founded by Madhav Krishna in 2016, Vahan uses AI and WhatsApp's API to automate the hiring of blue-collar workers AI-powered blue-collar recruitment platform Vahan.ai has raised $10 Mn (INR 83.7 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by existing backer Khosla Ventures. The round also saw participation from Y Combinator, Gaingels and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma among others. The latest round takes the startup's cumulative funding to $18 Mn till date, including $8 Mn and an undisclosed amount raised in 2021 and 2019, respectively. Vahan seeks to use the fresh money to develop its AI recruitment technology, which will support eight major Indian languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Bangla and Gujarati. Currently, Vahan's AI recruiter conducts interviews in English and Hindi. However, within the next year, the platform will expand into other languages and various dialects, making it more inclusive. The company's founder and chief executive Madhav Krishna told Inc42 that this AI recruitment technology can talk to blue-collar candidates on the phone itself. It will match candidates with suitable jobs, explain job requirements, answer their questions, and assist with onboarding. A key feature of this technology will be its ability to operate in multiple languages, aiming to support at least eight major Indian languages and numerous dialects. Unlike existing solutions, Vahan.ai's AI recruitment technology will use cutting-edge generative AI, including large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and Gemini 1.5. The founder added that the AI is fine-tuned with data from Vahan.ai's network of recruitment agencies, which generates more than 1 Lakh hours of call recordings. This data helps train the AI to recognise and respond to different regional accents and dialects, a feature that differentiates it from other recruitment technologies. Founded by Madhav Krishna in 2016, Vahan.ai uses artificial intelligence and WhatsApp's API to automate the hiring of blue-collar workers. Currently, the company focuses on recruitment for delivery services, partnering with companies like Swiggy, Flipkart, Amazon, Zepto, Uber, and Rapido. The company will also use the funds to expand into industries like manufacturing, logistics and retail, with plans to introduce additional services such as loans and upskilling opportunities to enhance blue-collar worker retention, per the founder. The company claims to recruit 25,000 people a month across 480 towns in India and aims to increase this number to 100,000 placements per month by next year. By FY25, it plans to quadruple this number. "We want to reach at least 100,000 placements per month. Our long-term goal is to create earning opportunities for at least a billion people in India and beyond over the next 10 years." Currently, the company claims to have close to 10 Mn blue-collar workers registered on its platform. This comes a day after the Ministry of Labour and Employment urged platform aggregators to register gig workers on the e-Shram portal to enhance their social security. The Centre has issued a Standard Operating Procedure detailing the responsibilities of aggregators, including worker registration and data updates. Meanwhile, the government has also been collaborating with select aggregators to complete API integration.

After Sarvam AI and Upliance.ai, Khosla Ventures Backs Third Indian Startup

Vahan.ai, a Bangalore-based AI-powered platform specialising in recruiting blue-collar workers, has raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Khosla Ventures. The funding round, supported by Y Combinator and Gaingels LLC, will be used to enhance the startup's AI technology and broaden language support to tap into India's vast hiring pool, particularly in remote and smaller towns. The funding, led by Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla's venture capital firm, aims to position Vahan to capture a large share of India's gig economy, which is expected to account for 70% of the country's job growth by 2030. The company, founded in 2016, already recruits 25,000 workers every month and has successfully placed over 500,000 workers across nearly 500 cities. Vahan AI, founded in 2016 by Madhav Krishna, is an recruitment platform based in Bangalore, India, that uses AI to simplify the hiring process for blue-collar and gig workers. The company's core technology utilises AI-based chatbots and machine learning algorithms to automate high-volume hiring processes, conducting interviews in multiple languages and managing employee acquisition, onboarding, training, and retention. Vahan.ai's platform, which serves clients such as Uber, Amazon, Swiggy, and Zomato, uses generative AI systems to streamline the hiring process. With natural language voice capabilities in Hindi and English, developed with partners like ElevenLabs, the AI recruiter simplifies onboarding by reducing barriers related to tech literacy. "The cost of running our tech is 3 cents per connected minute, half the cost of a human caller," said Madhav Krishna, Vahan's founder and CEO. As the gig economy in India expands, Vahan.ai is also piloting AI-driven recruitment for electronics manufacturers, benefiting from the ongoing shift of production from China to India. The company's focus on rapid hiring has positioned it as a crucial player in India's booming gig economy, which, according to Nasscom, is expected to generate services valued at over $250 billion by 2032.

AI Startup Helping Hire Gig Workers Gets Vinod Khosla Backing

Vahan.ai, an AI-powered recruiter of blue-collar workers, has secured $10 million in funding led by Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla's Khosla Ventures, bringing artificial intelligence to a hiring segment in India long dominated by mom-and-pop operators. The Series B round also drew capital from other US investors such as Y Combinator Inc. and Gaingels LLC to tackle a segment that Vahan expects will account for 70% of India's new job growth by 2030. The new funds will be deployed to hone the technology and expand the languages covered, the startup said in an announcement Thursday, casting a wider net to capture the hundreds of millions of potential hires in India's smaller, more remote towns.