Dex, a London-based recruitment startup, just raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding to reshape how companies find, assess, and hire talent. With artificial intelligence at its core, Dex is building a platform that acts more like a talent agent than a job board, automating everything from candidate sourcing to offer negotiation.
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun fund, Concept Ventures, and other notable angels, Dex is preparing to launch publicly in the UK before expanding internationally. Its core mission: make hiring smarter, faster, and more human through AI.
What makes Dex different?
Dex isn’t just another job-matching tool. It acts as an AI talent agent. Instead of browsing listings, candidates talk directly with Dex via a voice-based assistant. This assistant learns about their skills, values, ambitions, and preferences, then maps the market for roles that match.
If there's a fit, Dex handles the application process, no CV and no cover letter needed. The platform also provides interview prep and salary data to give candidates an edge.
The twist? The platform works just as well for passive candidates (those not actively job hunting) as it does for job seekers.
For employers, the platform offers deep candidate insights. It communicates with hiring teams to understand not just the role requirements, but also the company’s culture and expectations. Then it matches them with candidates who are aligned beyond just the job title.
How the tech works
Under the hood, Dex combines several large language models, including Openai, Google Gemini, and Meta’s Llama, to power its voice interface and recommendation engine. The system adapts to advances across AI providers to stay ahead.
It also draws on public datasets and thousands of interview transcripts to refine how it evaluates candidates. The founders consulted with more than 50 top UK recruitment leaders to build a hiring engine that reflects real-world practices, not just algorithms.
The recruitment industry is undergoing a major shift. AI is already being layered into platforms like LinkedIn, and countless startups are trying to automate hiring. But Dex is going further by positioning itself as a full-service agent for candidates and a matchmaking partner for employers.
Founders Paddy Lambros (CEO) and Harry Uglow (CTO), both former employees at VC firm Atomico, are betting that personalisation, not automation alone, is the future of hiring.
With strong early traction from UK tech companies (including two unicorns) and serious investor backing, Dex is gearing up to launch publicly and expand its team across engineering and marketing.
As Lambros puts it:
“Hiring isn’t just about filling roles. It’s about creating long-term partnerships that actually work for both sides. Dex is here to make that happen.”
