AI recruiter Alex raises $17M to automate initial job interviews

Job seekers in all fields can expect to soon be doing a lot more initial screening interviews. While that may sound like positive news, it doesn’t mean that there will suddenly be more open positions.

Instead, recruiters, often bogged down with determining which applicants are qualified for the next round, will outsource the routine screening tasks — like checking backgrounds, salary needs, and availability — to (you guessed it) AI.

Alex, a startup building an AI recruiter, says it’s already helping companies conduct video interviews and phone screens.

Aaron Wang (pictured center, bottom row), who co-founded Alex about 18 months ago, told TechCrunch that the startup’s voice AI tool can conduct autonomous interviews with applicants soon after they apply for a job. “Our AI recruiter does thousands of interviews a day and helps people get hired at some of the biggest companies in the world,” he said.

Although Wang, who previously worked at Facebook and spent time as a quant for a hedge fund, declined to name customers, he said they include Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, nationwide restaurant chains, and Big 4 accounting firms.

Investors view the rise of AI interviewers as a trend that many companies will inevitably adopt. That conviction led to Alex’s new $17 million Series A round, which was led by Peak XV Partners. The round included participation from Y Combinator and Uncorrelated Ventures, along with several chief human resources officers (CHROs) from unnamed Fortune 500 companies, and others. This Series A follows the company’s $3 million seed funding, which was led by 1984 Ventures last year.

Alex isn’t alone in offering AI recruiting services to companies. The startup’s competitors include other early-stage companies like HeyMilo, ConverzAI, and Ribbon.

Mercor, the rapidly growing AI data labeling startup that we reported is attempting to raise a new round at a $10 billion valuation, also started its life as an AI recruiter.

Alex’s long-term vision is to interview millions of job applicants to build professional profile data that is richer and deeper than what LinkedIn currently offers.

“Our thesis is that a 10-minute conversation with you tells me a whole lot more about you than your LinkedIn profile does,” Wang said.

But for now, Alex is focused on helping recruiters free up their time to build relationships with pre-qualified candidates and advising hiring managers.