Firstwork lands $15M Series A for AI onboarding
By Abha Lohia ·
Firstwork: funding and every story →
- Firstwork builds AI agents that get frontline workers verified, trained and cleared so they can start their first shift without paperwork delays
- Earlybird led the $15 million Series A, with Legion VC and Deel Ventures newly joining and Gradient and Y Combinator returning, lifting total funding to $20…
- The money will expand AI, research, engineering and sales teams, open a London office for European clients, and extend the agents into credential renewals…
What happened
- Firstwork raised a $15 million Series A led by Earlybird.
- Legion VC and Deel Ventures joined as new investors.
- Total funding now stands at $20 million.
- The startup has about 45 employees, most of them in Bengaluru.
- A London office is being opened for European customers.
Why it matters
- Staffing and onboarding of frontline workers is slow and paper-heavy, so automation saves time.
- The new capital lets the company push into the US and Europe.
- Agents will move beyond onboarding into renewals and ongoing compliance.
The business
- Firstwork sells AI agents for workforce onboarding.
- The agents collect and check documents for frontline workers.
- They also handle training and compliance steps before a first shift.
- The company was founded in 2024.
- It went through the Y Combinator Summer 2024 batch.
- It pitched itself as a payroll-and-HR platform for seasonal workers.
- Most of its team works from Bengaluru.
The founders
- Earlier led the Asia-Pacific business at a money transfer company
- Headed strategy at a food delivery firm in Singapore
Who put in money
- Earlybird Venture Capital lead — European venture capital firm
- Legion VC new investor
- Deel Ventures new investor
- Gradient existing investor
- Y Combinator existing investor — Startup accelerator
In numbers
$20MTotal funding · 2026
about 45Employees · 2026
What happens next
- Hire more people across AI, research, engineering and sales
- Open a London office for European customers
Earlier rounds
- Seed: $5M in February 2025
- Series A: $15M led by Earlybird
Words to know
- Series A
- An early funding round after seed, used to scale a product with proven demand.
Terms in this story
- Funding stage: Startups raise money in steps called funding stages: pre-seed, seed, Series A, B, C and later, ending in a stock-market listing or a sale. Each step is larger than the last and asks for more proof.
- Series A: Series A is usually the first large round a startup raises from venture capital funds, after it has shown that people want what it sells.
- Accelerator: An accelerator is a short, intense programme that gives a startup a small investment, mentors and a network in exchange for equity. An incubator offers space, mentoring and services over a longer period, often at a university, and may or may not invest.
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