San Francisco-based startup VCV.AI which is hoping to transform recruiting through AI, announced it has raised $1.7 Mn from Japanese VC Will Group, Talent Equity Ventures, 500 Startups and angel investors, including Masahiro Takeshima of Indeed. The funding will be utilized to help VCV continue to develop its technology and strengthen its position within the global recruitment market, in part through a new office in Tokyo, Japan. 

Arik Akverdian, founder and CEO of VCV.AI, stated, “Technology has transformed so many industries and workflows, yet far too often, hiring remains behind the curve. In my decade working in human resources, I’ve seen firsthand not just the challenges of hiring, but how outdated and inefficient the process often is. But AI can improve and streamline the hiring process, while also helping to remove corrosive biases that all humans have. There’s no reason technological innovation shouldn’t transform this area of business—especially considering human talent is an organization’s most important asset.”

VCV aims to eliminate human bias from the hiring process, making the process more fair and efficient for everyone involved. The startup's platform has been used by blue-chip companies like PWC, L’Oreal, Danone, Mars, Schlumberger, and Citibank to preliminarily screen candidates, automate screening calls, and conduct video interviews with voice recognition and video recording. The company claims to help companies save over 20 hours of work with recruiting bots working 24/7 to find, chat, and interview potential candidates.

Ryo Sakamoto, Investment Executive Officer of Will Group, stated, “We couldn’t be more excited to back VCV in the next phase of their growth. Research shows around a quarter of Americans change jobs each year—which helps explain why the global recruitment market was valued at $215.68 Bn in 2017 and is predicted to continue growing rapidly. VCV is particularly well-positioned to improve and transform this booming market with its bots, algorithms, machine learning, and other cutting-edge solutions—all offered at a flexible price and through a collaborative platform.”

Given that talent shortage was one of the biggest hurdles faced by recruiters last year as per a recent CareerBuilder survey, startups like VCV have immense potential to remove this pain point.