Automated talent agent, GENIE, closes second funding round, pioneering post-COVID employment technology.
Second Funding Round for GENIE
GENIE, an automated talent agent for the creative industry, today announces the closing of its second funding round, led by female led corporate advisor Adelpha, taking their total funding to-date to £1.75m. GENIE also announces advertising industry legend Sir John Hegarty as Chairman, as the team look to disrupt the ways companies hire talent in the post-COVID world.
Pre-COVID, the UK was home to over 2 million freelance workers, with workforces becoming increasingly distributed. As COVID-19 has dramatically re-shaped our understanding of work and our relationship to the office, this decentralisation has been accelerated – with employers facing new logistical challenges and freelancers facing significant security anxieties. Employers previously wanted to own the talent, but are now realising that fast access to the right people should be their top priority.
A Human Approach
GENIE communicates with humour and humility, treating people like human beings by learning the user’s likes and dislikes, and builds a 1-2-1 relationship. Against a backdrop of robotic recruitment platforms, GENIE shows how personality can be built into technology to create a more emotive, genuine experience.
GENIE’s co-founders bring expertise from the top of the creative sector and perfecting the art of being people-centred headhunters with experience spanning LEGO, BBC and extensive talent-hunting in creative industries.
The Algorithm
GENIE matches hiring companies to top industry talent through a proprietary machine learning algorithm working in tandem with deep sector insight. The entire process is handled by a messaging service with GENIE, who liaises with both parties. Her matching algorithm matches talent to a project, whilst she gathers live data on interest and availability, and enables companies to make a booking in an instant – whilst also sorting all the paperwork. GENIE’s fastest ever booking was made in just 7 minutes – where a brief was sent, results sent back, and talent booked. She currently counts global companies including Philips, Warner Music Group and Saatchi & Saatchi amongst her clientele.
Sir Hegarty joins the business to guide the launch of a subscription SaaS platform, coming later this year, which will allow corporates greater power to access the right talent at the right moment from GENIE’s talent networks. GENIE currently offers companies access to best-in-class talent on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Stephen Reekie, Chief Technology Officer, GENIE, commented: “GENIE brings together, across our platform, a unique combination of both technology and the domain experience and knowledge of our founders. This blending of human intelligence, artificial intelligence and deep understanding of the creative industry is now available on the phones and browsers of our customers. With constantly learning and continually improving matching algorithms GENIE delivers an unrivalled quality of available and engaged talent faster than ever previously possible.”
