Recruitment and talent analytics startup Sapia.ai, formerly PredictiveHire, has raised $17 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by Macquarie Capital and Woolworths Group’s venture capital arm W23. Capital is slated for further overseas expansion, including making the platform available in multiple languages.
Sapia’s artificial intelligence powered automation platform focuses on blind, untimed and asynchronous interviewing, eliminating bias from the hiring process.
Founder and CEO Barb Hyman says Sapia’s mission is to “make equity in the workplace a reality.”
“Our customers are seeing extraordinary results — and they’re seeing them fast,” she said.
“We provide data and insights that enable them to monitor fairness and impartiality in their decisions on the hiring journey. I’m delighted that Macquarie and Woolworths have invested in our technology – it’s a fantastic testament to my team’s commitment to our mission from the start and we can’t wait to open up our technology to new markets.”
The Melbourne-based global company has seen its customer base more than double from last year.
Dan Phillips, VC founder of Macquarie Capital, said his team was impressed and excited about how Sapia is using AI to help companies develop and deliver solutions for diversity and inclusion.
“We’ve all been talking about the value of diversity for some time, but many companies are still not ready to make a real difference. “This is mainly because we have not been able to accept our human side,” he said.
“Sapia’s Smart Chat Interview defines what a fair recruitment process can be. It’s blind, it’s efficient, and it’s backed by sound, peer-reviewed science.
Woolworths has been using Sapia.ai for recruitment, and W23 managing director Ingrid Mays says the program has helped improve the team’s recruitment process and improve the experience of candidates applying for leadership.
“The Woolworths team is always recruiting and we deal with tens of thousands of applications a year across the supermarket business. This new technology has a positive impact on discrimination during the recruitment process,” she said.
“Not only does it provide a dynamic platform for our recruiting teams, but we are thrilled with the experience our applicants have gained through the process, delivering the employment and equality outcomes we strive for.”
