From enterprises to SMBs: How Flashfox AI plans to change the hiring game

Hiring platforms are advancing from simple job matching to automating sourcing, screening, and candidate interaction as artificial intelligence reshapes recruitment. In just over two years, GetWork has grown its AI-powered product revenue from 10% to 52% and has now spun off its AI hiring unit as Flashfox AI. In a discussion with The Economic Times Digital, Rahul Veerwal, Founder and CEO of GetWork and Flashfox AI, talks about the motivation for the move, the financial aspects of AI-based hiring, MSME opportunities, measures against algorithmic bias, and the firm's plans for expanding worldwide. Edited excerpts.

Economic Times (ET): What prompted the decision to spin off the AI hiring business as an independent entity? How will the standalone structure change your business model, customer acquisition strategy and growth ambitions?

Rahul Veerwal (RV): AI now drives more than half of GetWork's revenue. Just over two years ago, it was 10%. That shift told us employers are ready to hand over the operational work in hiring to AI and spend their own time on the decisions that matter. Once AI became the larger part of the business, it needed its own focus, its own team, and its own pace. Running Flashfox AI separately lets us build faster for employers in India and in new markets.


The standalone structure gives Flashfox AI a dedicated commercial engine. Tarun Girdhar has joined as Chief Business Officer to lead sales, marketing and customer experience, along with our enterprise growth and international expansion. Our focus is enterprises, fast-growing startups and recruitment firms. Over the next 24 months, we aim to onboard over 500 enterprise clients and enter Southeast Asia and the Middle East, starting with the UAE, Singapore and the Philippines.

ET: How much more cost-effective does AI-powered recruitment prove compared to traditional hiring methods? Could you quantify the savings in recruitment costs, time-to-hire and recruiter workload for a typical enterprise client?

RV: Employers across IT, BFSI and fast-growing startups using the platform have seen a 40% reduction in time-to-hire. Most of that time comes back from the stages that usually slow hiring down: finding the right candidates, reaching out to them across channels, running first-level screening and scheduling interviews. Flashfox AI handles these steps through sourcing and validation, outreach on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, email and AI calls, screening through chat or AI calls, and AI interviews. The recruiter reviews and approves each step.

This changes how a recruiter's day is spent. Less time goes into scanning profiles and chasing schedules. More time goes into speaking with shortlisted candidates and working with hiring managers on the final decision.

ET: Your platform is focused on enterprise clients. Can small businesses and MSMEs also benefit from Flashfox AI? What would an affordable offering look like for businesses with limited recruitment budgets and no dedicated HR teams?

RV: Yes, the platform supports and enables customers across business sizes. The primary problems faced by businesses continue to be similar, such as lean hiring teams, urgent roles and limited time to screen large volumes of applications. There are subscription plans which are designed specifically for startups and small businesses.

ET: Flashfox AI draws on a global database of over 800 million professional profiles. How do you ensure the relevance, accuracy and freshness of this data? What proportion of AI-identified candidates ultimately convert into interviews and hires?

RV: Sourcing is only the first step. Every candidate the platform surfaces goes through validation before outreach begins. Each requirement a recruiter shares is broken into specific, measurable criteria, such as role, years of experience, location, industry and skills. Candidates are matched against those criteria. The database gets updated on a monthly basis to ensure freshness and relevance.

Compared to traditional sourcing and engagement tools, Flashfox AI has seen much better response and conversion rates - between 2x to 3x. However, conversion to Interviews and hires is also a function of the role offered, company, and compensation.

ET: As AI increasingly handles candidate sourcing, screening and matching, how do you see the role of human recruiters evolving? Which parts of the hiring process still require human judgement?

RV: The recruiter's role is moving closer to what good recruiters have always wanted to do: understanding the business need, building relationships with candidates and making the hiring call. AI takes on repetitive operational work, so recruiters have the time for that.

We built Flashfox AI with a human in the loop at every step. Each module can run on its own, but it acts only on the recruiter's instruction. Screening is a good example. The platform proposes the questions to ask a candidate, and the recruiter reviews, edits, adds or removes questions before launching the screening. The same applies to sourcing and outreach. Judgement on fit, final selection, and the candidate relationship stays with people.

ET: If an AI system incorrectly rejects a qualified candidate or makes a hiring recommendation that leads to a poor outcome, who is accountable: the platform provider or the employer? What safeguards and human oversight does Flashfox AI have in place? How does your tool address biases that may have entered through the training data?

RV: On Flashfox AI, the hiring decision always rests with a person. The platform prepares recommendations, drafts communication and structures interview criteria. The recruiter reviews, edits and approves every one of those actions before anything moves forward. Our responsibility is to make sure the recruiter can see why the platform made a recommendation and has full control to change it.

On bias, we keep the evaluation tied to the role. A recruiter's requirement is broken down into specific, measurable criteria such as role, experience, location, industry and skills. Candidates are assessed against those criteria. We deliberately capture very little information that could introduce bias. We also recognise that some industries carry imbalances in their talent pools, and that the large language models the industry builds on can carry bias of their own. Responsible AI is central to how we design the product. Keeping a human in control of every step is one of the most important safeguards we have.

ET: GetWork has reported 217% revenue growth, with AI-powered products contributing 52% of revenue, up from 10% in April 2024. What are Flashfox AI's current revenue, client numbers and growth targets for the next two to three years?

RV: GetWork crossed $5 million in annual recurring revenue, with 67% growth since March 2026. AI products now contribute 52% of that revenue, and over 400 employers use our AI hiring products. That business now sits within Flashfox AI.

Over the next 24 months, Flashfox AI aims to onboard over 500 enterprise clients and enter Southeast Asia and the Middle East, starting with the UAE, Singapore and the Philippines.

ET: Flashfox AI plans to expand across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, beginning with the UAE, Singapore and the Philippines. Why were these markets chosen, and how will you adapt the platform to local hiring practices, regulations and talent ecosystems?

RV: We started in India, but we built Flashfox AI as a global product from day one. The talent intelligence platform already draws on over 800 million professional profiles globally, so the core sourcing capability works across markets. PERSOL Group's investment also strengthens our path into the APAC region.

Each market has its own data protection rules and hiring practices. The compliance discipline we are building around India's DPDP Act gives us a strong base to work from as we enter new markets. The founders and the leadership teams have extensive exposure to these markets, which makes them an obvious starting point. However, the plan is to be ready to launch in western markets in 6-12 months.

ET: With global HR technology companies and new AI startups entering recruitment, what is Flashfox AI's competitive advantage? How will PERSOL Group's strategic investment and the increased participation of Artha funds support product development, enterprise partnerships and international expansion?

RV: Few platforms cover the full hiring flow from sourcing to interviews in one place, and that is where Flashfox AI stands apart. It is built on GetWork’s hiring brain, our AI stack that covers sourcing, early screening, deep evaluation and assessment. Our talent intelligence platform finds strong candidates before they start looking for jobs. That matters because the people best suited to fast-changing roles are often not actively applying. We also draw on a data layer built on real candidates, hiring outcomes and employer preferences. And we keep a human in control at every step, which enterprises care about when they bring AI into hiring.

PERSOL Group has invested as a strategic investor through Persol Venture Partners. The partnership can create global opportunities for Flashfox AI and open doors in the APAC region. Our existing shareholders, Artha Venture Fund I and Artha Continuum Fund, participated pro rata. We will use the capital to scale Flashfox AI in India and international markets, strengthen our technology and product stack, and accelerate business development and marketing.