London-based startup Vente AI has raised £500K in pre-seed funding just six months after its inception. The funding round was led by Antler, Europe’s most active early-stage VC, and included contributions from seasoned recruitment and rectech angels, including Thomas Vose, whose startup HireAra was recently acquired by the Access Group.
Vente AI’s innovative approach leverages artificial intelligence to automate the most time-consuming and costly parts of recruitment: lead identification, analysis, and prioritisation.
“Recruitment agencies spend approximately 40% of their time on business development activities. Our platform reduces these efforts by 90%, enabling recruiters to focus on building relationships and placing candidates,” said Cameron Briggs, CEO and co-founder of Vente AI.
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The competitive landscape of UK recruitment
The UK recruitment market is uniquely competitive, with approximately 40,000 recruitment agencies—equating to one agency per 140 companies. By comparison, the US has a far lower density, with one agency for every 500 companies. “The UK market is nearly four times more competitive than its US counterpart,” noted Briggs. He explained that this saturation presents a significant challenge for smaller agencies vying for new leads.
AI has the potential to level the playing field by identifying opportunities quickly and efficiently. For recruiters, Vente AI’s platform helps them identify vacancies on Day 1 and recommends high-priority leads tailored to their specialties.
Vente AI’s proprietary technology processes vast amounts of data to deliver actionable insights to recruiters. In November alone, over 38 million global job listings were analysed, representing a dataset of 17.1 billion words. While AI streamlines the process, Briggs emphasised its limitations: “Recruitment isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Generic AI solutions don’t work effectively. AI must be trained on the specific demands of each niche to deliver results.”
Early adopters of the platform have already seen notable success. By automating lead prioritisation and analysis, Vente AI has generated over £300K in additional revenue, processed 250 candidates, and saved 1,500 hours of manual work.
Impact on the UK recruitment market
Vente AI’s platform is not just about improving efficiency; it also aims to influence broader market trends. “Our platform enables recruiters to better identify and understand which companies need their help. This creates faster, higher-quality hires and could improve key recruitment metrics,” explained Briggs.
In the UK, the average time to fill a vacancy ranges from 20 to 65 days, depending on factors like seniority, sector, and location. By streamlining these processes, Vente AI has the potential to significantly reduce these timelines. Briggs added, “With faster placements and better matches, recruitment sector GDP and CAGR could improve, and unemployment rates may decrease—provided macroeconomic conditions remain stable.”
Vente AI’s founding team combines domain expertise with technical proficiency. Briggs brings over 12 years of experience in recruitment, having built a technology platform that processed five million job applications for companies like Uber and HSBC. COO Itamar Yeshua, a former colleague of Briggs, has led commercial strategies at multiple venture-backed companies, while CTO Octavian Neguletu offers a decade of software engineering experience, including developing compliance platforms for HMRC.
Jed Rose, Partner at Antler, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to scale their vision. “When the founders shared their vision, it was clear they had the expertise and technical skills to solve a major industry challenge. We’re excited to support them as they grow.”
What do we think about the startup
As Vente AI continues to enhance its platform and integrate with existing recruitment tools, it is poised to become a key player in the rectech space. The company’s focus on reducing costs and increasing productivity aligns with the recruitment industry’s evolving needs. With its fresh funding, Vente AI is set to accelerate product development, expand its team, and further refine its AI capabilities.
The company’s early successes hint at a broader shift in recruitment practices, where technology doesn’t just complement human efforts but fundamentally redefines them. As AI tools like Vente’s become more prevalent, the recruitment landscape may become more equitable and efficient for agencies of all sizes.
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