Storied Silicon Valley VC company Andreessen Horowitz is backing a fledgling U.Okay. startup that’s getting down to “redefine” how AI is used to compare corporations with skill.
Dex, because the startup is named, goals applicants and firms with more than a few AI-powered recruitment smarts, together with matchmaking and training, with a view towards bettering retention ultimately.
Dex is the handiwork of CTO Harry Uglow and CEO Paddy Lambros (pictured above), who lately left their positions as device engineer and head of skill, respectively, at Ecu VC company Atomico. Whilst they are saying that Dex has already lured some two dozen U.Okay. tech corporations on board (“together with two high-profile U.Okay. unicorns”), the platform is closing in closed beta for now as they fine-tune issues forward of a broader release later this yr.
Forward of that, the London-based startup on Tuesday introduced it has raised $3.1 million in a pre-seed spherical of investment led by means of a16z’s Speedrun fund and Idea Ventures, with participation from a slew of angels from around the tech and VC panorama, together with: Meta board member Charlie Songhurst; Deliveroo COO Eric French; Incident.io CEO Stephen Whitworth; Perception Capital spouse Kamil Mieczakowski; and ex-Atomico spouse Bryce Keane.
Rent flooring
With AI turning into more and more intertwined within the recruitment realm, Dex is coming into a hectic house — this comprises fledgling startups, well-funded unicorns, and new AI smarts baked immediately into LinkedIn. On the other hand, Dex sees an opening for an all-encompassing platform that’s laser-focused on actually getting to understand applicants.
Within the first example, Dex — which the corporate pitches as an “AI voice skill agent” — converses with applicants by way of a decision to garner an working out in their enjoy, talents, ambitions, and extra. Due to this fact, Dex can lend a hand them plan their subsequent occupation transfer; provide them with related alternatives; get ready them for interviews; or even negotiate provides they are going to obtain.
It’s value noting that Dex will paintings each for passive applicants — i.e. the ones no longer actively looking for a brand new activity — and the ones very a lot at the hunt. As an example, as soon as Dex has constructed a profile of the candidate, it could possibly stay tabs on open positions marketed on the internet — in all probability very explicit sorts of roles at very explicit corporations — and serve signals when such alternatives crop up.
For the ones actively looking for new paintings, Dex can pass the whole 9 yards, from seek via to utility.
“Dex talks via what you need — your personal tastes and desires — and asks inquiries to deeply perceive your enjoy and talents,” Lambros defined to techmim. “The usage of this knowledge, Dex then maps all the marketplace to search out essentially the most suitable alternatives and surfaces them to you. If you wish to continue, Dex handles the applying — not more CV, not more duvet letter — and when there’s a fit, introduces you to the hiring supervisor.”
So for applicants, Dex is much less market or activity board, and extra an AI agent that does all of the mundane stuff for them.
“We consider applicants don’t wish to trawl via masses of generic activity ads, so Dex does the looking for you, saving you hours of scrolling, researching, after which admin making use of,” Lambros stated.
In any case this, Dex can trainer applicants for his or her interview or even supply marketplace information on such things as reasonable repayment for such roles.
Lambros stated that along with leaning on “huge public information units and 1000’s of interviews and contact transcripts,” Dex spoke to greater than 50 of the U.Okay.’s “maximum skilled recruitment leaders” to be told about their recruitment method, and what they search for of their very best applicants. And all this knowledge, in the end, went into Dex.
Underneath the hood, Dex is constructed on more than one LLM suppliers, together with OpenAI, Google (Gemini), and Meta (Llama), switching in response to no matter enhancements are offered with every respective style.
“We’re continuously comparing and converting suppliers to make certain that we’re in a position to get pleasure from the most recent developments,” Uglow stated.
At the corporate facet, in the meantime, Dex converses with recruitment groups to determine their personal tastes for his or her very best candidate.
“Dex speaks with hiring managers and applicants to deeply perceive what an ideal have compatibility looks as if,” Uglow stated. “The tradition, behaviors, desires, wishes, and ambitions of people and firms. That is then blended with quite a lot of publicly to be had information, powering our advice programs to curate personalised fits.”
With $3.1 million within the financial institution, the corporate is now ramping up its hiring throughout engineering and advertising, with a view towards launching publicly beginning within the U.Okay., prior to taking a look to world markets.
“Hiring isn’t about filling seats — it’s about developing lasting partnerships that receive advantages staff and firms,” Lambros stated. “With this investment, we’ll lend a hand corporations retain best skill and empower staff to search out paintings they love.”
a16z,dex
Supply hyperlink
