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HrTech startup: Niya
- Can you tell us about yourself and your role?
Hello, I am Cameron Brown, co-founder of Niya.
- When was Niya founded?
Niya was founded in 2020.
- Give us a brief introduction to your company and its mission
Niya’s mission is to facilitate organizations’ access to engage untapped, up-skilled talent.
Niya’s online ‘campus’ trains underserved talents from over 200 NGOs and communities through 1000s of courses and partnerships with various companies.
Niya’s AI then matches teams to top candidates based on job openings, quickly scaling reach, diversity, and social impact!
- What is your company's North Star metric?
We have achieved 10 million users.
- How did your company get started, and what inspired its creation?
In 2021, Niya was founded from the realization that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.
Niya was founded to help the unrealized potential of qualified migrants and displaced individuals struggling to restart their careers in new countries around the world and aimed to bridge this gap.
After extensive research, we found that while opportunities exist, they're fragmented and hard to access. Niya bridges this gap by connecting job seekers with free learning resources and innovative employers.
- What HR solutions does your company offer, and how do you AI-power these solutions?
Niya offers access to untapped and upskilled talent from diverse communities through talent pathways.
For employers, our AI tool matches high-performing and potential learners and job seekers to their opportunities.
For job seekers, our AI supports learners throughout their learning journey and provides relevant content at the right time.
- Please provide key dates in your company's journey (e.g., founding date, product launches, major milestones).
- Founded Niya in 2020 by Hugh, Molly and I.
- Launched our Career Management Platform in 2023, which aggregates thousands of training programs and job listings.
- What is your vision for the future of HR tech and AI? What are your company's upcoming goals?
Our vision for the future of HR tech and AI involves creating more inclusive and accessible platforms that leverage advanced technologies to unlock human potential.
Niya aims to expand its services to include critical areas such as credit, finance, housing, and visa assistance.
Our upcoming goals include expanding our reach across Europe, building partnerships with more corporates, and continuously improving our AI models to better serve our users.
- What is your strategic approach to AI technology? Developing proprietary models in-house versus integrating external AI solutions?
Niya’s strategic approach is to integrate with the best AI solutions available in the market. This way, we can effectively enable refugees and migrants in their job search and placement efforts.
- What were the biggest challenges in integrating AI into your products, and how did you address them? Buy vs Build?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was dealing with AI hallucinations. Initially, we focus on a Gen AI approach.
However, due to the prevalence of hallucinations, we shifted our strategy to prioritize a Machine Learning (ML) first model. This shift allowed us to reduce inaccuracies and improve the reliability of our AI integrations.
- How does your company ensure its AI systems are unbiased and ethical?
We use Machine Learning (ML) that looks at data using RAG principles, leading to lower bias levels in our AI-powered results.
- What feedback have you received from clients about your solution(s), and how has it shaped your product going forward?
Clients have provided valuable feedback requesting the integration of their Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) into our platform to streamline job posting and talent management processes.
In response, we have invested in developing a unified API platform that supports multi-ATS integration, ensuring seamless functionality for our users.
Clients wanted a way to track and verify users’ progress in training programs.
In response, we introduced a feature that allows users to upload certifications for completed training programs, enabling skill validation and enhancing the credibility of their profiles.
- Can you share a success story or case study that highlights the impact of your technology on a client?
Endava:
We partnered with Endava, a London FTSE 250 company, to upskill and develop over 200 individuals from charities and underserved communities worldwide.
Through this partnership, we have graduated four technology cohorts, providing more than 6,000 hours of training and 1,500 hours of mentoring.
The four-month course included core fundamentals and soft skills training in communication, interviewing, and résumé writing, as well as technical skills in Data Analytics and AI fundamentals.
This initiative achieved a 10% job placement rate and resulted in cost savings of over £20,000 for the company.
Splintered Glass Solutions:
Splintered Glass Solutions, a US consultancy, sought on-demand support for client delivery projects.
By hiring through Niya, they connected with Python Developers from the refugee community in Lebanon.
This collaboration allowed them to meet their project needs effectively and support talented individuals from underserved backgrounds.
- What is your vision for the future of HR tech and AI, and what are your company's upcoming goals?
We anticipate that companies will need to be proactive in trying to win the talent war. As well as operating with sustainable and ethical practices.
For example, employer branding will have to extend beyond just a landing page or a “nice-to-have” at recruitment fairs, focusing on genuine engagement and meaningful opportunities.
By the end of 2024, our goal is to achieve £500K ARR.
We plan to enhance our talent pathway features and AI recommendation engine.
By then, Niya can enable employers to scale their campus recruitment efforts online and reach unconnected, underserved communities.
- What key milestones has your company achieved so far? (e.g., funding rounds, partnerships, customer acquisition)
- Raised £1.5m in a pre-seed round from angel investors and a non-dilutive grant from Google.org in 2024.
- Partnered with over 200 corporates and SMEs, including major tech companies like IBM, Salesforce, and Microsoft.
- Please provide relevant financial data and KPIs (e.g. growth rate, ROI)
Our primary focus is on scaling our user base, partnerships, and the number of opportunities on Niya's platform.
As of July 2024, Niya.ai platform has:
- Over 4,500 users
- More than 200 charity and community partners
- Over 1,000 free training courses and job listings
17. Can you show us your product demo?
Niya - Product demo
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