Private Equity Firms Invest in Human Cloud Platform Jyve
February 7, 2019 – The gig economy continues to push forward. According to a Gallup survey, nearly 57 million people in the U.S. have an “alternative work arrangement” as their primary job. And by 2020, analysts are predicting that more than 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will chose contract work instead of full-time jobs.
Recently, San Francisco-headquartered human cloud platform Jyve secured $35 million in funding led by SignalFire and joined by Crosscut Ventures and Ridge Ventures.
Jyve’s platform, which it calls “Skills-as-a-Service,” uses machine learning to source and identify certified, skilled talent. Jyve’s focus is on providing companies with flexible labor. Its workers, called “Jyvers” can fill a variety of roles, including merchandising, stocking, e-commerce fulfillment, auditing and brand ambassadorship among others.
“Jyve is one of the fastest-growing companies we’ve seen, having already reached $400 million in bookings in three short years,” said Chris Farmer, CEO of SignalFire. “They are creating a new economic class.”
“I believe the skill economy is way bigger than the gig economy,” Jyve CEO and founder Brad Oberwager told TechCrunch. He sees Uber driving as just the low-expertise beginning of a massive new job type where people with specializations or experience are efficiently matched to retail work. “Jyve’s secret sauce is the work quality review system built into its app for managers and stores that lets it know who got the job done right and deserves even better opportunities,” he said.
In addition, Jyve appointed Anu Gupta, formerly Target’s senior vice president of strategy execution and operational excellence, as chief operating officer and Ralph Leung, a former Morgan Stanley senior investment banker, as chief financial officer.
Jyve was founded in 2015, by Mr. Oberwager, Cammy Bergren, James Kairos, and Sam Purtill.
Investment Funding
Investors are pouring money into recruiting solutions businesses, especially those with an AI component. Here’s a look at some recent funding deals secured by these companies from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
CareerArc, a global leader in HR technology, raised a $30 million growth equity round led by PeakEquity Partners. This investment and the support of the team at PeakEquity Partners should allow us to accelerate our growth, expand product offerings and strengthen our market position,” said Robin Richards, co-founder and CEO of CareerArc.
France-based Talentsoft, a cloud-based human resource software solutions provider for talent management learning, has raised $50 million in a financing round which it says will boost continued growth via innovation and international market expansion. Talentsoft is focused on optimizing the employee experience while taking…
pymetrics, an enterprise SaaS company that uses neuroscience and AI to make the recruitment process more effective, has closed a $40 million Series B funding round. pymetrics utilizes neuroscience and AI to assess job applicants across a range of cognitive, social and emotional traits and algorithmically recommend the best-suited candidates to companies.
Scout Exchange, a recruitment marketplace connecting employers with specialized recruiters, has received $100 million in funding from TRI Ventures. The funding will accelerate growth of Scout’s recruitment marketplace, which has been adopted by hundreds of employers including 50 Fortune 500 companies and thousands of specialty recruiters.
Reflektive, an HR analytics and employee engagement platform, has raised $60 million in Series C funding. The company said it will use the cash infusion to invest in research and development to help grow its cloud-based platform of people management solutions. It also plans to double its engineering team and expand strategies worldwide.
ENGAGE Talent, an AI software company that helps companies identify and effectively engage with passive candidates, has raised $3 million in new funding. Participating investors included Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Refinery Ventures and Grand Ventures.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
