Firstwork raises $15M Series A to scale applied AI for frontline workforce operations

We’ve raised a $15M Series A led by Earlybird to get more frontline workers from application to first shift. Here’s what’s next.

We're excited to share that we've raised a $15 million Series A led by Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from Legion VC, Deel Ventures and our existing investors Gradient and Y Combinator. The round brings our total funding to $20 million since we launched in 2024.

What Firstwork does

Firstwork is an applied AI platform for frontline workforce operations. Our AI agents handle the operational work it takes to get frontline workers ready for their first shift, and to support them once they've started. That includes document verification, right-to-work and background checks, training coordination, onboarding, compliance and follow-up with workers.

We don't ask employers to replace anything. Firstwork sits on top of the HR, payroll and screening systems they already use and does the work between them, with every action logged and auditable.

The problem is much bigger than finding applicants

The shortages are real. Europe is on track to be short 950,000 health workers by 2030 [1] and is missing more than 500,000 truck drivers [2]. Worldwide, 60% of energy companies report labor shortages [3]. In the US, the projected shortfall is more than 267,000 registered nurses by 2028 [4].

But the challenge is not simply finding applicants. Many of the workers employers need have already applied. They get lost in the process of getting cleared and ready to start.

Each hire can require documents, background and right-to-work checks, training, payroll setup and other compliance steps. Those steps are spread across systems that don't talk to one another. The longer the process takes, the greater the chance a candidate takes another opportunity or drops out altogether.

Why we built Firstwork

HR, payroll and screening systems have largely remained systems of record. They store what happened. Someone still has to do the work.

Firstwork was founded in 2024 by Vardhan Kapoor, our co-founder and CEO, and Shubham Choudhary, our co-founder and CTO, to change that. They brought experience from both sides of the problem: frontline labor markets and the systems that support modern employment. Vardhan previously led APAC at Remitly and strategy at Deliveroo Singapore. Shubham was a Director of Engineering at Deel after helping build Rippling’s global employment infrastructure.

As Vardhan puts it: “The systems employers rely on were built to record what happened, not to actually do the work. That leaves HR and operations teams spending enormous amounts of time chasing documents, coordinating across systems and supporting workers through processes that extend well beyond day one.”

Our AI agents move workers from application to first shift. They manage ongoing compliance. And they follow up after shifts to surface issues early, before someone quits. HR and operations teams do less manual work, and they get a clearer view of each worker across the employment lifecycle.

Vardhan Kapoor (left) and Shubham Choudhary (right), Firstwork co-founders.

Where we are today

More than 150,000 frontline workers now start work through Firstwork each month.

Customers including Deel, Job&Talent, Relay, Wonolo and BGSF have cut the time workers and HR teams spend on each new hire by up to 90%. At one of our largest customers, Firstwork helped triple the number of qualified applicants who made it to their first shift.

Tim Rehder, General Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital, described what he saw when Earlybird looked closely: agents "performing millions of actions every month to reduce the time to clear a worker from days to minutes."

Where we're going next

We started with one of the hardest moments in the workforce lifecycle: the stretch between an accepted offer and a worker's first shift.

Now we're extending our agents into the work that follows. That means re-verification, credential renewals, recurring training, compliance management and worker support. These are the recurring tasks that keep a worker cleared, current and supported long after day one.

"Applied AI changes what is possible," Vardhan says. "We can now give every frontline worker the kind of support that used to be reserved for the top of the labor market, from the moment they apply through every stage of their employment."

Here's what the funding is for, in plain terms:

Growing our team across applied AI, AI research, engineering and go-to-market.
Expanding our presence across the United States and Europe.
Extending our AI agents into more parts of frontline workforce operations.

Finally, a few thank yous

To our customers: thank you for trusting us with work that matters to your business and to the people you hire. Most of what we've built came from working through real problems alongside you.

To our team: thank you for building this with care.

To our investors: thank you to Earlybird Venture Capital for leading this round, to Legion VC and Deel Ventures for joining, and to Gradient and Y Combinator for backing us again. And thank you to our advisors, including Prerana Issar, former Chief People Officer at J. Sainsbury Plc. and NHS England.

Join us

We're hiring. We're growing our applied AI, AI research, engineering and go-to-market teams across the US and Europe. If you want to build software for the people who keep care, deliveries and energy running, see our open roles.

Hiring frontline workers at scale? If your team is spending too much time chasing documents and coordinating across systems, we'd like to talk.

You can also follow along on LinkedIn.

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