The hiring landscape is undergoing rapid change as artificial intelligence transforms how employers search for talent and how candidates apply for jobs. While AI has made recruitment processes faster and more automated, it has also created new challenges. Job seekers increasingly compete with thousands of applications generated or enhanced by AI tools, while employers often rely on automated screening systems that may overlook qualities that cannot be captured in a traditional résumé. Stockholm based startup Fika Jobs believes the future of recruitment should focus less on paperwork and more on human connection. The company has now secured fresh funding to accelerate the development of its video first hiring platform.
Fika Jobs has raised $4 million in pre seed funding in a round led by Luminar Ventures. The investment also attracted support from more than 20 venture capital firms and angel investors, including Alliance VC and notable Nordic entrepreneurs Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, the co founders of King.
The funding will be used to expand the platform, strengthen the team, and prepare for a broader market launch later this year.
A New Approach to Job Matching
Founded by brothers Jakob and Alexander Dubois, Fika Jobs was created to rethink how people present themselves during the hiring process.
The company takes its name from the Swedish tradition of “fika,” a social coffee break centred around conversation and connection.
This philosophy forms the foundation of the platform’s approach to recruitment.
Rather than asking candidates to rely solely on written résumés and cover letters, Fika Jobs enables individuals to introduce themselves through conversational video interactions.
The founders believe that many of the qualities that determine workplace success, such as communication style, ambition, personality, and values, are difficult to capture through traditional application documents.
AI Powered Candidate Profiles
At the core of the platform is an artificial intelligence driven interview experience.
Candidates participate in a ten minute conversation with an AI agent that asks questions about their experience, skills, career aspirations, and professional goals.
The system then automatically transforms this conversation into a structured profile consisting of short video clips and key candidate insights.
This process allows job seekers to create a richer and more authentic representation of themselves without spending hours tailoring applications for individual roles.
Once profiles are published, the platform continuously matches candidates with relevant opportunities based on their qualifications, interests, and long term objectives.
This model reduces repetitive job applications while helping employers discover talent that may otherwise remain hidden within traditional recruitment systems.
Making Hiring More Human
The company believes that hiring has become increasingly transactional and automated.
Many candidates submit applications that are screened by software before a recruiter ever reviews them.
At the same time, employers often struggle to understand the motivations and personal qualities behind a résumé.
Fika Jobs aims to bridge this gap by giving both sides deeper insights before formal interviews take place.
Employers gain access to pre interviewed candidates along with information about their career ambitions, communication style, and professional interests.
This approach can help companies evaluate candidates more holistically while improving the overall recruitment experience.
Supporting Fairer Recruitment
Another key component of the platform is its focus on reducing bias during the hiring process.
To encourage more objective decision making, Fika Jobs anonymises attributes such as age, gender, and ethnicity during the matching stage.
This allows employers to focus on qualifications, experience, motivations, and role suitability rather than demographic characteristics.
The company believes this approach can contribute to fairer hiring outcomes while helping organisations identify stronger long term matches.
Its business model is also aligned with successful hiring outcomes, as employers only pay when a candidate is hired.
Building Momentum Ahead of Launch
Although still in its early stages, Fika Jobs has already generated significant interest from employers and candidates.
During testing in 2025, more than 50 companies used the platform, attracting thousands of job seekers and resulting in multiple successful hires.
The company has also built a growing employer waitlist ahead of its wider release.
With fresh funding and increasing demand for more personalised recruitment experiences, Fika Jobs is positioning itself as a new generation hiring platform that combines artificial intelligence with human connection. By replacing static résumés with dynamic video based profiles, the company hopes to create a more effective, engaging, and candidate friendly approach to recruitment.
