Fika Jobs raises $4M to build a video-first hiring platform where AI agents interview candidates

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Fika Jobs raises $4M to build a video-first hiring platform where AI agents interview candidates

Stockholm-based startup Fika Jobs has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding to build a video-first hiring platform that replaces traditional resumes with short-form video profiles and AI-conducted interviews. The company announced the round on Tuesday, positioning itself as a new approach to recruitment that emphasizes personality and communication skills over paper credentials.

A new take on hiring

The platform asks candidates to connect their LinkedIn profile, after which Fika’s AI generates personalized interview questions. Candidates then complete a roughly 10-minute video interview with an AI agent powered by Google’s Gemini models. The system automatically edits responses into short video clips and organizes them into a discoverable profile. Instead of applying to each role individually, candidates maintain a live profile that employers can browse as new positions open.

The idea emerged from the founders’ own recruiting frustrations. Brothers Jakob Dubois (CEO) and Alexander Dubois (CTO) were building their previous startup, social app Gaff, when they nearly overlooked a candidate whose resume failed to stand out. “We ended up speaking with him anyway, and within minutes, his grit, drive, and ambition became obvious,” Jakob Dubois told Bitcoin World. “Exactly the kind of person we wanted to hire.”

How Fika differs from existing AI hiring tools

Most competitors in the AI hiring space—such as Alex, Maki, and Mercor—focus on helping employers source, screen, and match candidates more efficiently. Fika takes a different approach by building a candidate-centric platform where job seekers maintain video-first profiles and employers browse a pool of people who have already been interviewed and evaluated by AI.

If successful, this model could help employers assess communication skills and cultural fit early in the hiring process, complementing traditional resume and application reviews. The approach may be especially valuable for early-career professionals and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, whose potential is not always apparent from a resume alone.

Bias risks worth acknowledging

Video profiles introduce real bias risks that deserve attention. When employers can see a candidate’s race, age, gender, physical appearance, and accent before evaluating their qualifications, it opens the door to discrimination that a resume, for all its flaws, at least partially obscures. Some companies have moved toward blind resume screening for this reason. Fika will need to address these concerns transparently as the platform scales.

Funding, pricing, and launch plans

The $4 million pre-seed round was led by Luminar Ventures, with participation from Alliance VC and King co-founders Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, the duo best known for creating Candy Crush. The funds will be used to continue developing the platform, grow the team, and prepare for a wider launch later this year.

Fika is free for job seekers. Employers pay nothing up front, but Fika takes 10% of a candidate’s first-year salary upon a successful hire. The company notes this is lower than the 20% to 30% placement fees often charged by traditional recruiters and headhunters.

The platform plans to open early access to candidates this week, with a broader public launch expected this fall. The company will initially focus on Sweden before expanding internationally. Fika currently has a small team but expects to reach around 10 employees by the end of the year. More than 100 companies are on the waitlist, though the founders declined to disclose which ones. Separately, they said more than 50 companies have tested the platform, including Plenty Labs, SICS.ai, Kognity, and Rebtel.

Conclusion

Fika Jobs is betting that video-first profiles and AI-conducted interviews can solve some of the inefficiencies and opacity that have long plagued hiring. The platform’s candidate-centric model and lower fee structure offer a clear value proposition for both job seekers and employers. However, the bias risks inherent in video-based evaluation will require careful mitigation as the company scales. The coming months will show whether this approach gains traction beyond the Swedish market.

FAQs

Q1: How does Fika Jobs differ from traditional job platforms?
Fika replaces resumes with short-form video profiles created through AI-conducted interviews. Candidates maintain a live profile that employers can discover, rather than applying to each role individually.

Q2: What AI model powers Fika’s interview agent?
The platform currently uses Google’s Gemini models to generate personalized interview questions and evaluate candidate responses.

Q3: How does Fika make money?
Fika charges employers 10% of a candidate’s first-year salary upon a successful hire, which is lower than the 20-30% fees typical of traditional recruiters. The platform is free for job seekers.

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