Firstwork Raises $15 Million Series A Led by Earlybird Venture Capital

Firstwork has raised $15 million (over Rs 142 crore) in a Series A round led by Earlybird Venture Capital, pushing the HR tech startup's total funding to $20 million since its 2024 launch.

The San Francisco-based company confirmed the round to a media report. Legion VC and Deel Ventures joined the round, alongside existing investors Gradient and Y Combinator.

Firstwork will spend the capital on expanding teams across applied AI, AI research, engineering and go-to-market functions. It also plans to strengthen its presence in the US and Europe, and to extend its AI agents into additional workforce operations.

Who is behind Firstwork?

Two former Deel executives, Vardhan Kapoor and Shubham Choudhary, founded the company. Firstwork builds AI agents that automate human resource operations for frontline workers. Around 80 per cent of its workforce operates from Bengaluru, even though the company is headquartered in San Francisco.

The platform covers a wide span of HR operations:

• Document verification
• Background checks
• Right-to-work checks
• Onboarding
• Training coordination
• Compliance management
• Worker follow-ups

How does the product work?

Firstwork integrates with existing HR systems rather than replacing them. Employers keep their current software and layer Firstwork's automation on top.

The company says more than 1.5 lakh frontline workers start work through its platform every month. It claims its technology can cut the time that workers and HR teams spend on each new hire by up to 90 per cent.

Think of a warehouse operator onboarding a hundred seasonal staff in a week. On Firstwork's claimed numbers, verification, compliance checks and training coordination that once took hours per hire collapse into minutes.

Its client list includes Deel, Job&Talent, Relay, Wonolo and BGSF. Deel's venture arm also invested in the round, linking the startup's largest backer to one of its customers.

How large is the market?

The fundraise lands amid rising adoption of artificial intelligence across human resource functions. India's HR technology market is projected to grow to $2.3 billion by 2033, up from $1.12 billion in 2024, according to industry estimates.

That projection implies the market more than doubles over nine years. Firstwork's Bengaluru-heavy workforce positions it to serve that growth while selling into the US and Europe.

Which other startups are competing?

Several Indian startups are building AI-based tools for recruitment, onboarding and workforce management.

Hunar.AI. The Bengaluru-based startup raised Rs 40 crore earlier this week. It uses conversational AI agents to automate gig-worker hiring, onboarding, training and employee retention. Its clients include Swiggy, Zepto, Croma, Starbucks and Dr Lal PathLabs.

TurboHire. The Hyderabad-based company raised $6 million in a Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures in August 2025. Founded in 2019, TurboHire automates enterprise hiring workflows with agentic AI. It says it has onboarded more than 120 enterprises, including Cipla, Tata Motors, PwC, Lenskart and Britannia.

TraqCheck. The company offers AI-powered background verification and recruitment agents.

HireBound. The startup automates candidate sourcing, screening and evaluation.

What does the money buy?

The $15 million gives Firstwork roughly three times the capital it had raised before, based on its $20 million cumulative total. Kapoor and Choudhary now face a clear test: convert claimed 90 per cent time savings on hiring into a durable position across two continents before competitors like Hunar.AI and TurboHire claim the same ground.

Gradient and Y Combinator doubling down signals existing investor confidence in that expansion. The next milestone to watch is whether Firstwork's monthly count of 1.5 lakh worker starts scales as its AI agents move into new workforce operations across the US and Europe.