Fika Jobs secures $4 million pre-seed for AI video hiring platform
Led by Luminar Ventures, the funding round supports the launch of a platform that replaces traditional resumes with AI-generated video interviews, aiming to reduce bias and lower placement fees for employers.
Stockholm-based startup Fika Jobs has raised $4 million in a pre-seed funding round to develop a video-first hiring platform that utilises artificial intelligence to interview candidates. The round was led by Luminar Ventures, with participation from Alliance VC and King co-founders Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, the creators of the mobile game Candy Crush. The capital will be used to expand the team and prepare for a wider market launch later this year.
The platform, founded by brothers Jakob Dubois (CEO) and Alexander Dubois (CTO), combines AI interview agents with short-form video profiles. Co-founders describe the service as a cross between LinkedIn and TikTok, designed to move beyond the limitations of traditional resumes. The concept originated while the founders were building their previous startup, the social app Gaff, where they realised that key traits such as grit and ambition were often obscured on paper.
Candidates begin the process by connecting their LinkedIn profile, which Fika’s AI reviews to generate personalised interview questions. Candidates then complete a roughly 10-minute video interview with an AI agent, currently powered by Google’s Gemini models. The system automatically converts these responses into short video clips, organising them into a live profile that employers can browse and revisit as new opportunities arise.
Fika Jobs distinguishes itself from competitors such as Alex, Maki, and Mercor, which primarily focus on helping employers source and screen candidates. Instead, Fika allows candidates to maintain video-first profiles that employers discover. This approach aims to assess communication skills and cultural fit early in the hiring process, potentially benefiting early-career professionals and those from non-traditional backgrounds.
The company plans to open early access to candidates in Sweden this week, with a broader public launch expected in the autumn. More than 50 companies, including Plenty Labs, SICS.ai, Kognity, and Rebtel, have tested the platform, while over 100 companies are on the waitlist. Fika currently has a small team but expects to have around 10 employees by the end of the year.
For job seekers, the platform is free. Employers pay no upfront fees, but Fika takes 10% of a candidate’s first-year salary upon a successful hire. The company notes this fee is lower than the 20% to 30% placement fees typically charged by traditional recruiters and headhunters. The founders acknowledge that video profiles introduce bias risks regarding race, age, and appearance, but argue the format offers a more holistic view of a candidate than a resume alone.
