Metaview Raises $35 Million to Revolutionize AI-Driven Hiring

Metaview, an AI startup focused on modernizing the recruitment process, has successfully raised $35 million in a Series B funding round. This round was led by Google Ventures and included continued support from existing investors such as Plural, Vertex Ventures, Seedcamp, Coelius Capital, True Equity, as well as Victor Riparbelli and Barney Hussey-Yeo. The company, founded in 2018 by former Uber and Palantir executives Siadhal Magos and Shahriar Tajbakhsh, aims to revolutionize corporate hiring through the use of AI tools.

Metaview's AI tools are designed to streamline various aspects of the recruitment process, including interview note-taking, job description generation, and optimizing hiring workflows. The company's flagship product is an AI note-taking app that records, analyzes, and summarizes job interviews, saving recruiters and hiring managers valuable time. Additionally, Metaview offers AI Reports for optimizing the hiring funnel, AI Answers for instant information about candidates and job details, and AI Job Posts for generating and maintaining job descriptions.

The inspiration for Metaview came from Magos' experience at Uber, where he observed the subjective and fragmented nature of the hiring process. He noted significant discrepancies in how different hiring managers approached candidate evaluations, with some relying heavily on data while others relied on gut feelings. This realization led to the development of Metaview's AI tools, which aim to harness conversational data to improve the hiring process.

Vidu Shanmugarajah, a partner at Google Ventures, highlighted the potential for disruption in the recruitment industry, which has traditionally been heavy on administrative tasks. He noted that Metaview's founders have a deep understanding of corporate recruiting workflows, gained from their previous roles at Uber and Palantir. This expertise, combined with their ability to build tools tailored to the needs of recruiters, makes Metaview well-positioned to lead the AI revolution in hiring.

With the new funding, Metaview plans to expand its platform and team, with a focus on building out its full suite of AI tools. The company will also hire more staff at its London headquarters and expand its presence in San Francisco. Magos emphasized that the company's long-term vision is to use AI to change how work is done, starting with the hiring process.

While Metaview's tools aim to streamline the administrative aspects of hiring, the company is cautious about the role of AI in making hiring decisions. Magos clarified that Metaview's software does not offer advice on who to hire, leaving the human-to-human interaction to humans. However, the tools do help take some of the subjectivity out of hiring by encouraging more data-backed decisions.

There are concerns about the potential for bias in AI hiring tools, with some employers preferring a more human-centric approach. Magos addressed these concerns by noting that Metaview's AI assistants are designed not to become judgment tools or make recommendations about who to hire. Instead, they focus on providing accurate and relevant summaries of interview data, helping recruiters make more informed decisions.