FIRSTWORK SECURES $5 MILLION SEED FUNDING; HR PLATFORM FOR MANAGING TWO BILLION GLOBAL FRONTLINE WORKFORCE

Firstwork’s platform uses AI to automate and simplify onboarding and workforce management; shortens time to hire from weeks to days

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, February 27, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Firstwork, an AI powered workforce management platform for frontline workers, today announced that it has closed a $5 million round of Seed funding led by Gradient with participation from YCombinator, SOMA Capital, 468 Capital, Houghton Street Ventures, Deel Leadership, and the CEO & Co-Founder of Job&Talent.

Founded in 2024 by Vardhan Kapoor and Shubham Choudhary, Firstwork is a next-generation workforce management platform that utilizes AI to streamline and automate key HR processes and help businesses with frontline workers onboard and manage frontline workers more efficiently and effectively.

While heading up strategy & operations for Deliveroo in Singapore and during his role as Head of Region, APAC for Remitly, Kapoor saw, first-hand, the challenges of hiring and onboarding tens of thousands of the frontline/shift based workers. “These frontline roles keep healthcare, logistics, and other critical services running, yet they’re stuck in a tech vacuum,” he said.” I’ve seen hospitals use literal stacks of paper just to confirm a nurse’s credentials, and logistics firms chasing license renewals by text and email. This is still the reality for many organizations in 2025. It’s inefficient, error-prone, and drives up turnover when promising workers drop out due to disorganized processes.”

Non-traditional frontline and seasonal segments of workers play a critical role in the global economy comprising 80% of the workforce in sectors that include healthcare, field operations, education, and transportation. However, onboarding is time consuming and complex. Legacy HRIS systems struggle with the rapid hiring and offboarding demands of seasonal peaks leading to costly staffing gaps and extended recruitment timelines of up to months in high-turnover sectors.

Reducing onboarding time by 75% enabled by AI
Firstwork’s workforce management platform aims to solve this–enabling HR managers to reduce onboarding time by as much as 75% and contains AI-powered improvements in compliance (for companies) and onboarding quality (for workers) and is already being used by customers that include Relay in London and Oway in California. The company tailors AI models to meet each organization’s unique needs. This hands-on method is a game-changer for frontline teams that can’t afford to rip out core systems or spend months retraining staff. Further, the company also provides AI powered worker training to ensure each worker is given a bespoke onboarding experience that allows them to perform to their best capabilities from day one.

“The frontline workforce is the backbone of the global economy, yet it's often overlooked and underserved by technology,” said Eylul Kayin, Partner at Gradient. “Vardhan and Shubham have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses with frontline workers. Their passion for solving these challenges, combined with their impressive execution, convinced us that Firstwork has the potential to become a category-defining company. We're excited to partner with them on this journey.”



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About Firstwork
Founded in 2024 by Vardhan Kapoor and Shubham Choudhary, Firstwork is bringing next generation AI technology to the industries that keep the world moving. The company’s workforce management platform for frontline workers aims to reduce onboarding time by as much as 75%. Firstwork is VC-backed with $5 million in seed funding from investors that include Gradient, YCombinator, SOMA Capital, 468 Capital, Houghton Street Ventures, Deel Leadership, and the CEO & Co-Founder of Job&Talent. For more information about Firstwork, go to https://www.firstwork.com.

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