Jobandtalent raises $103M on a down-round $1.5B valuation as it looks to AI to recruit temps

Summary

Jobandtalent, an AI-based “workforce as a service” marketplace that connects people with companies looking for hourly workers, announced it has raised €92 million ($103 million). The Series F — which includes participation from Atomico, BlackRock, DN Capital, Hercules, Infravia, Kibo, and Kinnevik — values the Madrid, Spain-based company at €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) post-money. On the surface, a unicorn raising a decent round of funding from a well-known list of backers might sound like pretty strong news. The reality is a little different. This is a down round for the company. Jobandtalent, which has operations in 10 countries in Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, last raised money in December 2021, a Series E of $500 million that valued it at $2.35 billion. We’ve asked for a comment from the company on why it’s valuation received a haircut of almost $1 billion. “This round reflects a valuation adjustment in line with broader market dynamics, particularly within the tech and growth-stage sectors,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. “The funding ensures that Job&Talent remains well-capitalized to execute the next phase of our growth journey. Despite challenging market conditions, we have consistently outperformed industry trends over the past year, driven by the strength of our platform and our ability to integrate AI across our entire suite of products.” Some of the reasoning may also be a reflection of the European startup scene at the moment. On the plus side: Jobandtalent was the beneficiary of strong tailwinds over the years. It came into its own in the years around Covid-19, when both businesses and workers were unsure of what was coming around the corner and gravitated to working arrangements that afforded more flexibility. Certain sectors, like e-commerce and the wider ecosystem of delivery and logistics around it, were positively booming and needed to fill lots of roles, fast. It was an especially flush times for particular kinds of roles, and Jobandtalent...