In an effort to enhance itself, Multiverse, the unicorn company based in the United Kingdom that creates apprenticeship programs for individuals to learn digital skills while they work, has acquired another company. The business has acquired Searchlight, a startup and talent sourcing tool powered by artificial intelligence. The idea is to leverage Searchlight’s technology to develop new AI solutions for Multiverse in order to increase the company’s offering of expert training.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
The founder and CEO of Multiverse, Euan Blair, stated in a statement, “Searchlight’s AI, platform, and exceptional talent will allow us to better diagnose the skills needed within companies and deliver impactful solutions. More companies and people will profit when we combine Searchlight’s technology and team with our scale and world-class learning.”
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
Kerry and Anna Wang, twin sisters who serve as CEO and CTO, respectively, co-founded Searchlight. Up to the expiration of its contracts, it will continue to provide services to its current clients, which include Talkdesk, Zapier, Udemy, and other software organizations. Following that, Searchlight’s recruitment services will be phased out in favor of concentrating on Multiverse’s operations.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
The agreement highlights the growing influence AI is having in the fields of education and employment. While some think AI is completely replacing human labor, others will use it to expedite their tasks. By assisting in the development of more effective professional training services to close hiring shortages, this acquisition tackles a third area where AI is becoming more prevalent.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
Recruitment and AI have occasionally made unusual bedfellows. Because it was trained on usual recruitment data, which tended to come from men, Amazon famously once had to discard an AI recruitment tool after it was discovered to be intrinsically biased against women for technical professions. The CEO of Searchlight told TechCrunch that although models are being developed and trained with greater understanding now, technology has advanced significantly since then.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
Multiverse, which was founded and is currently run by Blair (the son of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and well-known attorney Cherie Booth Blair), has about 1,000 clients, including Cisco, government agencies, financial services, and industrial businesses.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
While Multiverse initially gained notoriety by emphasizing apprenticeships as a respectable substitute for individuals wishing to pursue jobs in rapidly advancing industries like technology, it has subsequently grown to include professional training for those who are already employed.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
According to Ujjwal Singh, CTO and CPO of the company, Multiverse has several AI-based services available right now. For example, it provides users with a personalized AI assistant coach.
These days, it’s obvious that it wants to keep adding technology to enhance the platform as a whole and maintain its credibility with a clientele that is determined to purchase and make use of what seem to be the most cutting-edge services available.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
The Wang sisters, who both graduated from Stanford with distinction, took their firm through Y Combinator in 2018. The financial details of the sale are not being disclosed. As a whole, Searchlight collected close to $20 million, but the majority of that came from a several-year-old fund raise—a $17 million Series A in 2021. Prominent names like Accel, Founders Fund, Emerson Collective, and Shasta Ventures were among the many investors on its extensive list. Its 2021 valuation was projected by Pitchbook to be $64 million.
Multiverse acquires Searchlight
Meanwhile, Multiverse has been on a fundraising binge throughout the years, raising several hundred million dollars from investors such as General Catalyst and Lightspeed. The company was last valued at $1.7 billion in 2022. This is the company’s second acquisition; it bought Eduflow, a YC startup, last year.
