Insider Brief
- Maki, a conversational AI agent transforming talent acquisition, raised $28.6 million in Series A funding led by Blossom Capital to expand its U.S. presence, accelerate product development, and scale its team globally.
- Serving clients like H&M, Deloitte, and FIFA, Maki automates 80% of screening and interviewing processes, reducing time-to-hire by 3x and employee turnover by 20%, delivering significant efficiency gains for HR teams.
- The funding will fuel Maki’s mission to create fully customizable AI agents that centralize HR workflows, provide real-time insights, and transform HR into a proactive, strategic function.
PRESS RELEASE — Maki, the conversational AI agent transforming talent acquisition, has announced the successful closing of its $28.6 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Blossom Capital, with participation from DST Global and existing investors Frst, GFC, and Picus Capital.
In 2024, Maki experienced over 300% growth, driven by large-scale contracts with Fortune 500 companies such as H&M, BNP Paribas, PwC, Deloitte, FIFA, Abercrombie, and Capgemini. These organizations rely on Maki to solve critical talent acquisition and management challenges, including streamlining workflows, enhancing candidate experience, accelerating time-to-hire, and reducing employee turnover. Maki’s agents have been rolled out in 50+ markets globally, delivering 80% automation of screening and interviewing processes, a 3x reduction in time-to-hire, and a 20% reduction in turnover, translating into millions of dollars in efficiency gains.
“Our mission is to give human resources more-than-human powers, as we believe the future lies in a powerful mix of human ingenuity and AI-driven intelligence. Our agents don’t just assist — they do the work, enabling teams to focus on strategic priorities, unlock creativity, and drive meaningful organizational impact,” said Maxime Legardez, CEO of Maki.
The Series A funding will enable Maki to:
- Accelerate its product roadmap by driving screening, interviewing, scheduling, and sourcing innovations. These developments will enable companies to fully customize their AI agents, tailoring them to their unique workflows, tone of voice, and operational needs.
- Fuel Maki’s commercial expansion in the U.S., which already accounts for 30% of the company’s business, is a key focus. To lead this growth, Maxime Legardez will relocate to New York City to establish the company’s U.S. hub.
- Significantly expand its team in 2025, hiring 50–60 new employees across engineering, product, commercial, success, and onboarding teams to support its ambitious roadmap and global expansion.
“The U.S. is the world’s most dynamic HR market and the most forward-thinking in adopting AI to drive efficiency and impact. By expanding to New York City, we’re doubling down on this opportunity to help enterprises redefine how they hire and manage talent,” Maxime Legardez explained.
“From the moment we met Max and the Maki team, we were impressed by their vision, the strength of the product, and the outstanding metrics they’ve achieved in such a short time,” said Ophelia Brown, Partner at Blossom Capital. “We believe Maki’s agents have the potential to enable large organizations to reach the next level of efficiency and decision-making, redefining how HR drives business success.”
Maki’s mission extends beyond automating HR tasks. With an AI-native architecture, Maki’s agents dynamically retrieve, orchestrate, and act on real-time data to enable seamless, data-driven decision-making. AI isn’t an enhancement; it’s the engine. The company aims to become the “AI tier of talent intelligence.” By centralizing workflows, adapting dynamically, and delivering real-time insights, Maki is transforming HR from a reactive function into a proactive, strategic force that unlocks organizations’ full potential.
About Maki
Founded in 2022 by Maxime Legardez, Paul-Louis Caylar, and Benjamin Chino, Maki is building a conversational AI agent that liberates HR teams, advances organizations, and expands human potential. From sourcing and screening to interviewing and selection, Maki’s agents handle the entire journey autonomously and at scale.
Candidates experience fully immersive, AI-led interactions — through voice, video, or text — that adapt to their unique profiles. Organizations can customize every workflow to align with their goals, ensuring consistent, compliant, and bias-free hiring across industries and geographies.
Contacts
Press contact: Isabella Kun & Natacha Favry — maki@kalamari.agency
Featured image: From Left to Right: Paul Louis Caylar — COO, Maxime Legardez-Coquin — CEO, and Benjamin Chino — CPO. Credit: Business Wire
