The recruitment process has long been criticized for its inefficiency and lack of transparency. Applicants spend hours writing applications and submitting cover letters, only to disappear into what often feels like a black box. Generative AI has made things messier, with employers increasingly relying on AI screening systems to sift through an overwhelming number of submissions.
startup based in Stockholm Fika Jobs he believes there is a better way. The company is building a video-first hiring platform that combines AI interview agents with short-form video profiles, creating something that feels like a cross between LinkedIn and TikTok. Instead of relying solely on resumes, candidates complete AI-powered interviews designed to showcase their personality and communication skills.
Fika Jobs announced a $4 million pre-seed round on Tuesday, which will be used to continue developing the platform, grow the team and prepare for a wider launch later this year.
For job seekers, the process begins with connecting a LinkedIn profile. Fika’s AI looks at the candidate’s background and creates personalized interview questions. Candidates then complete a roughly 10-minute video interview with the AI agent, currently powered by Google’s Gemini models.
After the interview, Fika automatically converts the answers into short video clips and organizes them into profiles. Rather than applying to each new role, candidates maintain a live profile that employers can discover and review as new opportunities arise.
The idea came from co-founders and brothers Jakob Dubois (CEO) and Alexander Dubois (CTO) while building their previous startup.
“When we were building [social app] Gaff, we spent a lot of time recruiting and almost passed on a candidate because his resume didn’t really stand out,” Jakob Dubois told TechCrunch. “We ended up talking to him anyway, and within minutes, his toughness, drive and ambition became apparent. Exactly the kind of person we wanted to hire.”
This experience convinced the founders that some characteristics that employers are most interested in are difficult to capture on paper.
Unlike most competitors (Alex, Maki, and Mercor, among others) that focus on helping employers more efficiently source, screen, and match candidates with AI, Fika is building a platform where candidates first maintain video profiles and employers browse a pool of people who have already been interviewed and assessed by AI.
If successful, Fika Jobs could help employers assess communication skills and cultural fit early in the hiring process, supplementing traditional resume and application reviews. This approach can be especially valuable for early-career professionals and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, whose potential isn’t always apparent from a resume alone.
Of course, video profiles introduce real risks of bias that are also worth acknowledging. When employers can see a candidate’s race, age, gender, physical appearance and accent before evaluating their qualifications, it opens the door to discrimination that a resume, for all its flaws, at least partially hides. There’s a reason some companies have moved toward blind resume screening.
The platform plans to open early access to candidates this week, with a wider public release expected this fall. The company will initially focus on Sweden before expanding internationally. Fika currently has a small team, but expects to reach around 10 employees by the end of the year.
More than 100 companies are on the waiting list, the founders say, though they declined to say which ones. Separately, they said more than 50 companies have tested the platform, including Plenty Labs, SICS.ai, Kognity and Rebtel.
The platform is free for job seekers. Employers pay nothing upfront, but Fika takes 10% of a candidate’s first salary on a successful hire. (The company notes that this is lower than the 20% to 30% placement fees that traditional recruiters and headhunters often charge.)
The round was led by Luminar Ventures, with participation from Alliance VC and King co-founders Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, the duo best known for creating the hit mobile game Candy Crush.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
