Jobandtalent, an AI-based “Workforce as a Service” market, has raised 92 million euros ($103 million) by connecting people with businesses looking for hourly workers.
Series F, which includes participation from Atomico, BlackRock, DN Capital, Hercules, Inflavia, Kibo and Kinnevik, values the Spain-based Madrid-based company at 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) posts.
On the surface, a unicorn that raises a proper funding round from a list of well-known supporters may sound like pretty strong news.
The reality is a little different. This is a downround for the company.
Jobandtalent, which operates in 10 countries in Europe, the US and Latin America, last raised funds in December 2021.
We asked the company for comment on why it received a haircut that valuation amounted to around $1 billion.
“This round reflects valuation adjustments in line with the broader market dynamics, especially within the technology and growth stage sector,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. “This funding will still allow employment and talent to be capitalized to carry out the next phase of its growth journey. Despite the challenging market conditions, we have consistently outperformed industry trends over the past year due to the strength of our platform and the ability to integrate AI across our products.”
Some of the reasoning may also reflect the current European startup scene.
Plus: Jobandtalent has been a beneficiary of strong tailwinds for many years. Around Covid-19 it became itself when both businesses and workers were not aware of the corner and were drawn to more flexible work arrangements. Certain sectors such as e-commerce and the wider ecosystem of delivery and logistics around it were actively booming and needed to quickly meet many roles.
It was a particularly flashy time for a certain kind of role, and JobAndtalent found an aspiring audience of businesses and workers who were participating in its platform to connect with each other.
The company has held over 300,000 workers in over 3,250 companies over the years, with a focus on sectors such as logistics and retail.
However, today’s company’s fundraising news is coming at a time of uncertainty. The European labor market has been mitigated by many conflicting economic waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of skills and people writes about opportunities for people who can fill the gap. However, the decline in corporate profits and the stagnation of the eurozone economy could continue to describe tough times in the future.
And that’s before you think about what impact AI might have. That hasn’t been proven yet, but businesses and governments have bets on AI, a cost-effective solution for some kind of job, and that too can spell bad news for a particular job.
Jobandtalent sits in a strange position in that respect. The company’s bread and butter remains a human labor force, but it also leaps towards ways to use AI to become more “efficient.” The company says the new injection of fairness will be used to expand business internationally and build a set of AI-powered agents into the platform.
These are first called Clara, an agent focused on recruitment. In a test that includes a limited number of clients, Clara has conducted more than 180,000 interviews, the company said, helping to recruit around 7,000 people and “helping to provide industry-leading filling rates, even at peak demand.” Jobandtalent says the filling rate is “equivalent to the output of thousands of recruiters.”
Jobandtalent said it plans to launch more agents this year to cover other features previously handled by humans.
“This capital injection reaffirms our shared vision for the future of work and talent,” said Juan Urdiales, co-founder and co-CEO of the startup, in a statement. “Thanks to the platforms we have built over the past few years, we are now well positioned to evolve into a fully integrated employment platform that helps businesses manage their temporary and internal workforce more efficiently. The next generation of AI agents will bring about significant productivity improvements, provide better opportunities for workers, and unlock significant cost savings for businesses.”