Eightfold AI Raises $220M, Valued at $2.1B - SoftBank Led Funding

Eightfold AI Secures $220 Million in Series E Funding

Eightfold AI, a company specializing in the application of deep learning and artificial intelligence to talent management, announced on Thursday a successful fundraising round of $220 million.

This new capital infusion is intended to bolster the company’s growth trajectory and expand its reach within the competitive talent acquisition landscape.

Investment Details and Valuation

SoftBank Vision Fund 2 spearheaded the Series E funding round for the five-year-old organization.

As a result of this investment, Eightfold AI’s valuation has risen to $2.1 billion, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $1 billion in last October’s Series D round.

Eightfold AI’s founder and CEO, Ashutosh Garg, shared this information with TechCrunch during a recent interview.

Investor Participation

Alongside SoftBank, existing investors also contributed to the round.

These include General Catalyst, Capital One Ventures, Foundation Capital, IVP, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The total funding raised by Eightfold AI now exceeds $410 million.

The Eightfold AI Platform

Based in Mountain View, California, Eightfold AI offers a talent acquisition platform designed to streamline the identification of qualified candidates.

The platform facilitates the import and filtering of large volumes of resumes, assisting clients in their recruitment processes.

A core objective of Eightfold AI is to mitigate biases within company hiring practices.

Candidate-Centric Approach

“Rather than actively seeking employment, candidates can submit their resumes to the system,” explained Garg.

“The system then instantly identifies the most suitable job opportunities for that individual, which significantly lowers candidate attrition rates.”

This approach also leads to an increase in both the quantity and diversity of applications received by clients.

Internal Mobility and Global Reach

The platform supports over a dozen languages and serves clients in more than 100 countries.

Furthermore, Eightfold AI enables organizations to utilize the platform internally, assisting employees in discovering opportunities for advancement and new roles within the company.

“This functionality has nearly doubled internal mobility rates for our clients,” Garg stated.

Garg’s prior experience includes roles at IBM Research, where he focused on understanding human behavior, and Google, where he contributed to user personalization initiatives.

Addressing the Global Talent Challenge

Garg emphasized that effective recruitment requires expertise in analyzing extensive datasets and identifying the right talent.

Eightfold AI analyzes data from various sources, including internal company data (sales, customer management, HR) and public resources like patent databases and publications.

Vision for the Future

“Unlocking human potential through the transformation of HR and global talent management represents a multi-trillion dollar opportunity,” Garg commented.

“SoftBank shares our ambitious vision, and we are thrilled to have them join us as a partner.”

Social Impact Initiatives

In Indiana, Eightfold AI collaborates with the state to assist individuals filing for unemployment insurance in building their resumes and discovering job opportunities.

The company also operates a program dedicated to helping U.S. veterans identify career paths aligned with their skills.

SoftBank’s Perspective

Deep Nishar, Senior Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, and a former LinkedIn executive, highlighted the platform’s capabilities.

“Eightfold’s platform, powered by AI and machine learning, provides enterprises with a comprehensive solution for managing the entire talent lifecycle – from hiring to retention and growth of a diverse workforce.”

“We are pleased to support Ashutosh and the Eightfold team in their mission to revolutionize talent management and career development.”

Future Plans

The newly acquired funds will be allocated to accelerating expansion efforts and investing in the recruitment of additional data scientists and engineers, according to Garg.

This investment signals Eightfold AI’s commitment to continued innovation and leadership in the AI-driven talent management space.