Multiverse, the UK unicorn that creates apprenticeships for people to learn tech skills while at work, has made an acquisition as it aims to upskill. The company has bought Projector, a startup and recruiting platform that uses AI-based technology to source talent. The plan will be to use Searchlight’s technology to build new AI products for Multiverse to expand its professional education services.
“Searchlight’s AI, platform and exceptional talent will enable us to better diagnose the skills needed within companies and deliver effective solutions,” Multiverse founder and CEO Euan Blair said in a statement. “Combining our scale and world-class learning with Searchlight’s technology and team will ensure even more companies and individuals benefit.”
Searchlight was co-founded by twin sisters Kerry and Anna Wang (CEO and CTO respectively). Its existing customers (which include Udemy, Zapier, Talkdesk and other tech companies) will continue to be served until their contracts expire. After that, the plan will be to phase out Searchlight’s recruiting services as they focus on Multiverse’s business.
The agreement highlights the growing role artificial intelligence is playing in the world of work and education. Some people will use artificial intelligence to speed up what they do. others will claim it AI takes over some jobs altogether. This acquisition is aimed at a third area where artificial intelligence is emerging: to help create more efficient job training services to fill job vacancies.
AI and recruiting have been strange bedfellows at times. Amazon famously It once had to scrap an AI recruitment tool after it was found to be inherently biased against women for technical roles due to training on standard recruitment data, which was typically male. But the technology — and more specifically the awareness of how to build and train models — has come a long way since then, Searchlight’s CEO told TechCrunch.
“Our AI model is able to identify a good match for a role four times longer than a traditional interview,” Wang said. “We are solving for the exact same problem, which is increased equitable access to economic opportunity for all. Multiverse had a great business, but they’re looking to expand into an all-in-one workforce development platform.” Kerry will become product manager at Multiverse, while Anna will become head of AI.
Founded and led by Blair (son of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and high-profile barrister Cherie Booth Blair), Multiverse currently has around 1,000 customers, with past and present clients including Cisco, government organizations, financial services and industrial companies.
While Multiverse first made its name with a focus on apprenticeships as a viable alternative for people looking to build careers in fast-moving fields such as technology, it has since expanded to cover job training for people already in employment. Multiverse has some AI-based services live now, said Ujjwal Singh, the company’s CTO and CPO: it already offers a personalized AI coaching assistant for users. Now it clearly wants to continue using more technology to improve its overall platform and credibility with a set of customers who intend to buy and use what appear to be the most up-to-date services they can.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but for some context, the Wang sisters — both impressive and successful Stanford graduates — launched their startup through Y Combinator in 2018. Searchlight raised nearly $20 million in total, but that was mostly through fundraising appointments Several years ago, a $17 million Series A in 2021. Its long list of investors included a number of prominent names such as Accel, Founders Fund, Emerson Collective and Shasta Ventures. Pitchbook is appreciated his valuation in 2021 at $64 million.
Multiverse, meanwhile, was last valued at $1.7 billion in 2022 and has rallied over the years, raising several hundred million dollars from investors including General Catalyst and Lightspeed. This is the company’s second acquisition after acquiring another YC company, Eduflow, last year.
From what we understand, investors are “happy” with the outcome. “From the beginning, Anna and Kerry had envisioned building Searchlight’s AI models to complement their vision,” Keith Rabois, who led the Series A, said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. “Searchlight’s differentiated technology is a magnet for innovative companies like Multiverse. I am excited by the positive results of this acquisition for Searchlight and Multiverse.”
