Multiverse, the UK unicorn that creates apprenticeships for people to learn tech skills while they work, has made an acquisition aimed at upskilling. The company has purchased Searchlight, a startup and recruiting platform that uses artificial intelligence-based technology to search for talent. The plan will be to use Searchlight's technology to create new AI products for Multiverse to expand its professional training services.
“Searchlight’s artificial intelligence, platform and exceptional talent will allow us to better diagnose the skills needed within businesses and deliver impactful 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 that even more businesses 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 receive services until the end of their contracts. After that, the plan will be to shut down Searchlight recruiting services while they focus on the Multiverse business.
The agreement underlines the increasingly important role that AI is playing in the worlds of work and education. Some people will use AI to speed up what they do, others will claim that AI is taking over certain jobs entirely. This acquisition addresses a third area where AI is emerging: help create more efficient vocational training services to fill recruitment gaps.
AI and recruiting have been strange bedfellows at times. amazon already appeared in the press for being forced to scrap an AI recruiting tool after discovering it was inherently biased against women for technical roles, due to being trained on typical recruiting data, which commonly came from men. But the technology, and more specifically awareness of how models are built and trained, has come a long way since then, Searchlight's CEO said.
“Our AI model is able to identify a good fit for a position four times as often as a traditional interview,” Wang said. “We are solving the exact same problem, which is greater equitable access to economic opportunities for everyone. Multiverse had a great business, but they are looking to expand into an all-in-one workforce development platform.” Kerry will become Multiverse's Chief Product Officer, while Anna will become Head of AI.
Founded and run by Blair (son of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and prominent lawyer Cherie Booth Blair), Multiverse currently has around 1.000 clients, and its list of past and present clients includes Cisco, government organizations, financial services and industrial companies.
While Multiverse initially made a name for itself by focusing on apprenticeships as a viable alternative for people looking to develop careers in fast-moving fields such as technology, it has since expanded to cover vocational training for people who are already employed. Multiverse already has some AI-based services, said Ujjwal Singh, the company's CTO and CPO: It already offers a personalized AI assistant coach for users. Now it clearly wants to continue incorporating more technology to improve the overall platform and its credibility with a set of customers determined to buy and use what appear to be the most modern services they can.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but for some context, the Wang sisters, both impressive and successful Stanford graduates, launched their business through Y Combinator in 2018. In total, Searchlight raised nearly $20 million, but that It was primarily through fundraising in 2021 in a $17 million Series A. Its long list of investors included several notable names such as Accel, Founders Fund, Emerson Collective, and Shasta Ventures. pitchbook estimated its valuation in 2021 at $64 million.
Meanwhile, Multiverse was last valued at $1.700 billion in 2022 and has seen heavy fundraising over the years, raising several hundred million dollars from investors including General Catalyst and Lightspeed. This is the company's second acquisition after it acquired another YC company, Eduflow, last year.
From what we understand, investors are "happy" with the result. "From the beginning, Anna and Kerry have thought about building Searchlight's AI models to complement their vision," said Keith Rabois, who led Series A, in a statement. “Searchlight's differentiated technology is a magnet for innovative companies like Multiverse. “I am excited about the benefits of this acquisition for Searchlight and Multiverse.”
