Betterleap leverages AI to revolutionize recruitment, launches with impressive $13M in seed funding

Betterleap, an innovative startup aiming to disrupt the recruitment industry, officially announced its launch today, backed by an impressive $13 million in seed funding.

The seed round saw participation from leading venture capital firms, including a16z and Peakstate Ventures, with additional contributions from Streamlined Ventures, Active Capital, Air Angels, and Stipple Capital.

The San Francisco-based company says that it has built the world’s largest database of job candidates, with more than 1 billion records from various sources, such as Indeed, LinkedIn, GitHub, Stack Overflow and others. The platform also uses generative AI to provide recruiters with data-driven insights and automation, helping them discover the best candidates for their open roles and reach out to them effectively.

In an exclusive interview with VentureBeat, co-founder and CEO, Khaled Hussein, shed light on the company’s unique approach and the potential impact it could have on the recruitment industry.

“We have the largest database and the most accurate data in the [recruitment] market, to the point that we have a lot of bigger-sized customers that use our data to enrich their contact information,” he explained.

“Betterleap is about one thing: how do we combine AI and data to help recruiters do more with less? Without the work that Betterleap is doing, companies would not be hiring the right people, and companies would be spending an insane amount of capital on the wrong resources,” he added.

Hussein also said that Betterleap differs from other recruiting software in five critical ways: GPT-4 integration, comprehensive candidate mapping, AI-powered personalization during outreatch, cross-sector compatibility and reachable talent focus.

He said that Betterleap’s AI engine, called CoPilot, allows recruiters to ask critical questions of their data and receive immediate responses, such as when to send emails, what keywords to use, what criteria to look for and how many people to contact. He also said that Betterleap integrates with various applicant tracking systems (ATSs) and learns from the data and feedback that accumulates over time.

Betterleap also supports cross-sector compatibility by providing different ways to engage candidates from different industries, such as phone numbers, social media info and email. Hussein said that Betterleap does not charge extra for the additional contact info and that it aims to help recruiters do more with less. He also mentioned that the outreach methods vary depending on whether the candidate is in tech or non-tech sectors. “Genuine personalization requires a little bit more work from the recruiter, and this is where AI can come in and also increase efficiency,” said Hussein.

Additionally, Betterleap promotes diversity and inclusion in the hiring process by providing two features: one is to allow recruiters to source for diverse candidates using various filters, and the other is to use AI to analyze the diversity of the pipeline and to source candidates without considering name, gender or race. Hussein said that he personally cares about this aspect as a minority and that Betterleap tries to match candidates based on their qualities and skill sets.

Betterleap’s launch seems impeccably timed. A recent McKinsey study found that organizations with strong use of people analytics reported an 80 percent increase in recruiting efficiency, a 25 percent rise in business productivity and a 50 percent decrease in attrition rates.

Hussein says the seed funding will help Betterleap grow its team, invest in R&D and expand its go-to-market strategy. He also said that he is looking for engineers with ML and data infrastructure experience, as well as go-to-market personnel. He praised his co-founder, Anna Melano, who has a product and design background from Airbnb and RedDoor, and their investors from Andreessen Horowitz and Peakstate Ventures, who have been helping them with scaling and strategy.

As AI continues to mature and the amount of available data increases, industry observers will be keenly watching Betterleap’s progress. The company’s success could have far-reaching implications for the future of recruitment, potentially setting a new standard for efficiency and precision in the field.