Hunar.AI raises Rs 40 Cr in funding to expand conversational AI across frontline workforce operations

Bengaluru-based conversational AI startup Hunar.AI has raised Rs 40 crore in a Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures, with participation from Hyderabad Angels Fund, Seedstars International and other investors.

Founded in 2022 by Shantanu Bhattacharyya and Krishna Khandelwal, Hunar.AI is developing conversational AI agents to help businesses manage frontline workforce operations, from hiring and onboarding to training and employee engagement.

The company plans to use the funds to strengthen its AI infrastructure, develop its products and expand its market reach.

Using conversational AI to manage frontline workforces

Hunar.AI aims to help businesses manage the repeated interactions involved in hiring and retaining frontline workers.

The platform supports candidate screening, skills assessments, interview scheduling, onboarding, training and employee engagement. 

The company's approach draws on its experience running a workforce agency for three years before developing its technology. 

Hunar.AI is building its platform around the idea that conversations can help businesses manage these processes more efficiently, particularly when workers are spread across multiple locations.

Supporting multilingual workforce operations

The platform supports more than 20 languages, including Hindi, English, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Gujarati and Tamil. Its AI agents can switch between languages during conversations and are designed to handle background noise, varied accents and interruptions.

According to the company, nearly 40% of its voice AI calls take place in languages other than Hindi and English.

These capabilities are designed to help businesses communicate with frontline workers who may face language barriers when using conventional digital workplace systems.

Growth in candidate interactions

Hunar.AI reports that daily conversations across its platform grew 46-fold over the past 12 months. In September, 200,000 people gained employment through conversations with its AI agents, according to the company.

It also reports more than 10 million candidate interactions and a twofold improvement in conversion rates. 

The company says its platform has reduced the time required to run hiring, onboarding and engagement processes by up to 90%, while recruitment cycles have shortened by as much as 75%.

With the latest funding, Hunar.AI plans to expand its technology and reach more businesses seeking to streamline frontline workforce management.