After Serge Bastardas spent 10 years working in the Amazon and floriculture startup Colvin, one thing always stood out. There was a feeling that there was not enough efficient “human infrastructure” to manage workers behind the scenes. He took this sentiment and in 2025, along with co-founders Nacho Travesi and Antonio Mele, launched Orbio, an enterprise startup that helps companies manage their front-line employees. Of course, we use AI agents.
The company on Monday announced a $21 million Series A round led by Dawn Capital. The company says its customers already include Poke and YUM! Brands (owners of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC) hire and manage front-line employees. Bastardas said customers have been piloting Orbio and are now progressing to fully implementing the software. As an example, behavioral health provider Stepping Stones Group, where Orbio now runs its full U.S. operations, has seen a 20% increase in candidates for hire, he said.
Orbio agents (Maria, Daniel, Claire) can interview candidates, assess suitability, monitor employee performance, and conduct daily check-ins throughout the employee's work lifecycle. Bastardas added that the goal is to allow companies to run their workforce autonomously, allowing companies to engage and support their front-line workers while at the same time delegating some of their employees' tasks to AI agents.
“Each agent generates data that feeds back to other agents. Onboarding signals inform the quality of hires. Exit interviews reveal why employees leave and recalibrate hiring criteria. Engagement data identifies retention risks,” he continued.
Orbio competes with several startups, including Paradox, which helps automate hiring, and WorkJam, which helps manage frontline employees.
But Bastardas believes Orbio's biggest competition is the traditional approach to how frontline workers are managed, especially in industries like healthcare, retail, and logistics. This approach remains a piecemeal process that requires spreadsheets and phone calls. But all this is rapidly changing in the age of AI. Orbio has raised $26 million in funding to date from investors including Visionaries and 2100 Ventures. Bastardas said the new funding will be used to hire and develop more AI agents.
“this is, [a] “The 2.7 billion people who maintain health care, retail, logistics and hospitality businesses, most of whom don't have a company email address, have had none until now,” Bastardas said. This is their AI moment. ”
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