For years, recruiters have used machine learning to find potential recruits by searching for keywords on resumes and LinkedIn profiles. This method can help narrow down the candidate pool, but recruiters still need to manually review each profile to determine the best fit for their job.
David Paffenholz (pictured on the left) and Ishan Gupta realized that at just 22 and 19, LLMS could find talent faster and more efficiently. They built JuiceBox, an AI-powered search engine that uses natural language to analyze professional profiles, personal websites, and other published information to identify the most qualified candidates.
After joining Startup Accelerator Y Combinator in the summer of 2022, Paffenholz and Gupta spent several more years purifying the product. When AI search engine PeopleGpt was ready in the second half of 2023, it was quickly adopted by a wide range of customers, from small startups to large companies like recognition, lamps and confusion.
In a short period, it served more than 2,500 customers and achieved recurring revenues (ARRs) of over $10 million per year.
On Thursday, JuiceBox announced it had raised $36 million in total funding, including a $30 million Series A round led by Sequoia.
Sequoia partner David Cahn learned about the company as he caught up with the founder of an early-stage startup who said he uses JuiceBox for all his recruitment efforts. Cahn told TechCrunch that the founder hired more than 12 people without using professional recruiters.
Such acclaimed reviews of JuiceBox piqued Cahn’s interest. Shortly afterwards, Cahn learned that Sequoia’s internal recruiter was trying out JuiceBox, and was even more excited about the startup’s growth potential by supporting the company with its own employment efforts.
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He was even more impressed when Khan finally met with Parfenholtz and Gupta.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a company in my career that has four companies that have 2,000 customers with that small team,” Cahn told TechCrunch.
JuiceBox has since hired eight employees, but the company continues to attract customers without a sales team.
Customers flock to JuiceBox. Because adopting speed is extremely important for companies that race to build AI capabilities.
What sets JuiceBox’s search engine apart is its human-like ability to guess information about candidates.
“We help find new candidates on the internet that you won’t find anywhere else, as your profile may not have the kind of keywords or what you would expect from your regular search,” Paffenholz told TechCrunch.
Startup products are popular not only with small businesses that lack dedicated recruiters, but also with talent teams from large companies. By automating candidate search, the tool unlocks internal recruiters and focuses on building relationships with potential recruits.
Once JuiceBox identifies a candidate, the agent can automatically send an email and schedule the first call.
JuiceBox is growing rapidly, but older talent-acquisitive startups like EightFold also offer AI-powered search capabilities.
Still, Cahn is confident that Paffenholz and Gupta can convert JuiceBox into a product essential to the technology stack of all startups.
“We’ve invested in a lot of companies that will default to startups like stripes,” he said. “I think JuiceBox has the chance to default to all the startups that are the first startups that we use to hire our first employees.”
