Earlybird AI, a B2B startup looking to help job seekers secure employment using its voice-first AI software, has raised $800,000 (£625,000) from dozens of investors, including Google.
About a quarter of people between 16 and 64 – nearly 11 million people – are out of work and according to the Office for National Statistics, 4.4% of people were unemployed in the period between February-April 2024, – up from the previous figure of 4.3%.
Founders Claudine Adeyemi-Adams FIEP (CEO) and Boris Bambo (CTO) are passionate about helping people back into work due to personal experiences and believe Earlybird AI can contribute to bringing these statistics down.
People struggling to find work or keep a stable job can speak with the Earlybird AI assistant, sharing information about their personal and professional lives.
Once submitted, the tool analyses their responses to identify and extract the most relevant insights critical to getting the individual the support they need to overcome any challenges preventing them from accessing or retaining a job.
The needs typically detected by the AI vary, according to Adeyemi-Adams, and can range from a lack of digital skills to living in temporary accommodation or mental health issues.
The information is then sent to Earlybird AI’s partner organisation and the employment advisors at the company will then assist the applicants using the breakdown of information sent to them.
Adeyemi-Adams claims the tool helps the advisors do their jobs more efficiently allowing them to support more people.
Successful candidates are typically placed in frontline roles such as retail or hospitality. But the founder realised that securing a job doesn’t mean their personal and professional challenges end, so Earlybird AI now works with the employment advisors to provide in-work support such as advice or resources to help them retain their new job.
Asked why she founded the platform, Adeyemi-Adams told UKTN: “I came from a low-income background and then experienced homelessness. I was a participant in a range of employment support programmes and worked in low-paid frontline roles before navigating my way to a successful career in law. I experienced the support on offer first-hand, and it was mostly a poor experience.
“I then designed and delivered employment support programmes and saw some of the challenges of successfully running these programmes. When I combine my lived experiences with my domain expertise, it made sense to find a solution to the problems that I was encountering and create a solution that helps organisations be more successful whilst enabling individuals in need of support to have a better experience accessing and receiving that support.”
The multi-lingual product’s funding came from Google, Resolution Ventures, Ada Ventures, Syndicate Room’s Access Lightbulb Trust, and a range of high-profile women angel investors, including Andrea Sinclair, Berthe Haile, and Pip Wilson.
It will be used to grow its technological capabilities, add more people to its tech team currently led by Bambo and expand its reach by growing its customer base.
The investment coincides with Earlybird AI’s selection for the Mayor of London’s Innovation Challenge, aimed at solving critical unemployment and economic inactivity in the city, a matter that is high on the political agenda.