As labour shortages continue to disrupt industries that rely heavily on frontline workers, companies are increasingly turning to automation to bridge the gap between job demand and available talent. Ghent based startup Ringtime is entering this space with an AI driven platform designed to transform how organisations recruit and engage with candidates, and has now raised €1.8 million in seed funding to accelerate its growth.
The round was led by Volta Ventures, with participation from Syndicate One, JK Invest, New School VC, and Allusion. The funding will support the company’s plans to expand its team, strengthen its market presence, and scale its technology across Europe.
Addressing labour shortages in frontline sectors
Industries such as retail, logistics, and hospitality are facing persistent shortages of workers, particularly in roles that require quick hiring and high volumes of applicants. Traditional recruitment processes in these sectors often involve repetitive outreach, manual screening, and fragmented communication, making it difficult for employers to efficiently identify and engage suitable candidates.
At the same time, many blue collar workers have different communication preferences compared to traditional office based roles. They may rely more on messaging platforms, prefer flexible contact times, or require communication in multiple languages. Existing recruitment tools are often not designed to accommodate these needs, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
Ringtime aims to address this gap by automating the entire recruitment workflow, from initial outreach to candidate matching.
An AI driven recruitment orchestration layer
At the core of Ringtime’s platform is an AI powered orchestration system that manages both inbound and outbound conversations with candidates. The platform determines how best to reach each individual, taking into account factors such as preferred communication channels, timing, and language.
Once contact is established, the system continues to manage the interaction, handling screening questions, gathering relevant information, and guiding candidates through the recruitment process. By centralising these interactions into a single system, Ringtime reduces the need for manual intervention and streamlines hiring workflows.
This approach allows companies to engage with large volumes of candidates simultaneously while maintaining personalised communication, improving both efficiency and candidate experience.
Beyond recruitment use cases
While recruitment is the company’s primary focus, Ringtime’s technology is also applicable to other sectors that require managing high volumes of conversations. These include areas such as real estate and technical installations, where timely and efficient communication is critical to operations.
By extending its platform beyond hiring, Ringtime is positioning itself as a broader solution for organisations that need to handle complex communication flows at scale.
Early traction and market adoption
Founded in 2025, Ringtime has already begun generating revenue and working with clients across the recruitment industry. Its customer base includes organisations such as Trixxo Jobs, Synergie Jobs, and House of HR, indicating early demand for solutions that can automate and optimise hiring processes.
This early traction highlights the urgency of the problem the company is addressing. As labour shortages persist, businesses are increasingly seeking tools that can help them identify and connect with candidates more effectively.
Co founder Diederik Syoen emphasised that the company’s goal is to create infrastructure that enables faster and more efficient matching between employers and workers across different sectors, languages, and geographies.
Scaling across Europe
With the new funding, Ringtime plans to expand its operations and enter additional European markets. The company will invest in team growth, marketing, and product development to support this expansion.
As the European labour market becomes more dynamic and interconnected, the ability to manage recruitment processes across multiple regions and languages is becoming increasingly important. Ringtime’s platform is designed to address these challenges by providing a scalable and adaptable solution.
By combining AI driven communication with a focus on real world recruitment needs, Ringtime is positioning itself at the intersection of HR technology and automation. As companies continue to search for ways to overcome labour shortages, platforms like Ringtime’s could play a key role in reshaping how talent is sourced and matched in the modern workforce.