Multiverse, the British unicorn that builds apprenticeship programs for people to learn technology skills on the job, has made an acquisition as it looks to upskill itself. The company acquired Searchlight, a startup and recruitment platform that uses artificial intelligence-based technology to source talent. The plan is to leverage Searchlight's technology to build new AI products for Multiverse and expand professional training services.
“Searchlight's AI, platform, and great talent will enable us to better diagnose the skills needed within companies and deliver impactful solutions,” said Founder and CEO of Multiverse. (CEO) Euan Blair said in a statement. “Combining our scale and world-class learning with Searchlight’s technology and team will ensure even more companies and individuals can benefit.”
Searchlight was co-founded by twin sisters Kerry and Anna Wang (CEO and CTO, respectively). Existing customers (including Udemy, Zapier, Talkdesk, and other technology companies) will continue to receive service until their agreements end. After that, the company plans to scale back Searchlight's recruitment services and focus on its Multiverse business.
The deal highlights the growing role AI will play in the worlds of work and education. Some people use AI to speed up their work. Some argue that AI is completely taking over certain jobs. This acquisition addresses his third area where AI comes into play: building more efficient professional training services to close the hiring gap.
AI and recruiting have a sometimes strange relationship. Amazon once famously had to discontinue its AI recruiting tools because they were trained on typical hiring data, which typically had more male hires. was found to be inherently biased towards women. But technology, and a clearer understanding of how to build and train models, have come a long way since then, Searchlight's CEO told TechCrunch.
“Our AI model can identify four times more people who are a good fit for a role than traditional interviews,” said Wang. “We are trying to solve the exact same problem: increasing equitable access to economic opportunity for everyone. We're looking to expand.'' Kelly will become Multiverse's product director, and Anna will head up the company's AI division.
Founded and led by Mr Blair (son of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and prominent barrister Cherry Booth Blair), Multiverse currently has around 1,000 customers, including Cisco, government and Contains a list of past and present clients from institutions, financial services, industry, and more. companies.
Multiverse initially made a name for itself by focusing on apprenticeships as a viable option for people looking to build a career in a fast-changing field such as technology, but has since grown to focus on apprenticeships for people already employed. We have expanded to cover professional training for people. According to Ujjwal Singh, his CTO and CPO of the company, Multiverse currently has several AI-based services up and running and already offers personalized AI assistant coaches for users. Now, the company is clearly layering in more technology to improve the overall platform, increasing reliability for a set of customers who want to buy and use what they think is the most up-to-date service. I'm thinking of letting you do that.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but for some context, the Wang sisters, both high achievers who graduated from Stanford University, launched their startup through Y Combinator in 2018. In total, Searchlight raised nearly $20 million, which was primarily due to funding dates. A few years ago, a $17 million Series A was planned for 2021. The long list of investors included many notable names such as Accel, Founders Fund, Emerson Collective, and Shasta Ventures. Pitchbook estimated his 2021 valuation at $64 million.
Meanwhile, Multiverse, valued at $1.7 billion in 2022, has struggled to raise capital for years, raising hundreds of millions of dollars from investors including General Catalyst and Lightspeed. This is the company's second acquisition after acquiring another YC company, Eduflow, last year.
From what we understand, investors appear to be “happy” with the results. “From the beginning, Anna and Kelly have been thoughtful about building an AI model for Searchlight that complements their vision,” Keith Lavoie, who led the Series A, said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. “Searchlight's differentiated technology attracts innovative companies like Multiverse. We are excited about the turnaround with this acquisition for Searchlight and Multiverse.”