Khosla Ventures backs hiring platform Vahan

Vahan, the operator of artificial intelligence-based recruitment services for blue-collar jobs, has raised an undisclosed sum from Menlo Park-based venture capital firm Khosla Ventures and two San Francisco-based venture capital firms Founder Fund and Pioneer Fund.

“Happy to announce that at Vahan Inc - we've raised a fresh round of funding with participation from Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund and Pioneer Fund,” Madhav Krishna, founder and chief executive at Vahaan said in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

Details on the stage of funding were not specified.

The fundraise was first reported by The Economic Times. The report added that the Bengaluru-based company will use the funds to scale up and expand operations.

Vahan was part of US-based seed accelerator Y Combinator’s Summer 2019 batch that consisted of three other Indian startups. The platform helps low-skilled workers in India find jobs through its business account on WhatsApp.

Job seekers can text a "Hi" on the messaging app wherein they will then be prompted to answer a few questions about general ethics at work and work, industry preferences by an AI-driven chatbot. Post-screening, shortlisted candidates are offered jobs in less than 24 hours, according to the "How It Works" section on Vahan's website.

Coupled with a dashboard interface for recruiting companies to get started with job campaigns and track key performance metrics, Vahan uses machine learning algorithms to find suitable candidates.

The startup’s clientele includes Dunzo, Zomato, Domino's, Uber Eats and Swiggy – all platforms that run logistics-intensive operations across food delivery and hyperlocal concierge services.

The hiring app is based on the gig economy business model, one that Uber Technologies is viewed to have pioneered with its cab-hailing services.

Last week, Uber launched its gig workers hiring app called Uber Works in Chicago.