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May 6, 2026 • Ivan Mehta

Ethos raises $22.75M for AI voice-powered expert network

Ethos raises $22.75M for AI voice-powered expert network Ethos raises $22.75M for AI voice-powered expert network Ethos raises $22.75M for AI voice-powered expert network

Ethos raises $22.75M from a16z for its expert network with voice onboarding

Overview

London-based startup Ethos has raised a $22.75 million Series A round led by a16z to improve expert networks using AI-powered voice onboarding. The company aims to solve the limitations of traditional platforms like LinkedIn, GLG, and AlphaSights by capturing deeper expertise through conversational AI interviews rather than simple job title matching.

Key Innovation: Voice-Powered Onboarding

  • Traditional Problem: Existing expert networks rely on form-based onboarding tied to job titles, missing nuanced skills and sub-specializations
  • Ethos Solution: Voice-based AI interviews that ask broader questions and extract detailed knowledge beyond what job titles convey
  • Natural Language Matching: Companies can pose complex queries like "Find me people who worked at a funded startup by A-grade investors solving for finance automation"
  • Multi-Source Data: Combines voice interview insights with public sources (blogs, academic papers, social links)

Technical Approach

Data Collection

  • Conducts AI-powered voice interviews through its own platform
  • Extracts insights from conversations to build detailed expert profiles
  • Augments with external data sources for comprehensive matching
  • Captures sub-specializations invisible to traditional platforms

Matching Algorithm

  • Uses natural language processing for client queries
  • Maps economy as a "knowledge graph of people, companies, and products"
  • Enables complex searches (e.g., doctors who specialize in an area AND have written papers AND understand drug development)

Business Model & Traction

  • Revenue Model: 30%+ per-project fee from businesses
  • Current Performance: On track for "eight-figure annualized revenue"
  • Growth Rate: Onboarding 35,000 experts per week
  • Client Base: Top hedge funds, private equity firms, AI labs, enterprise consulting (names undisclosed)
  • Team Size: 8 people (goal to stay compact while scaling)

Founding Team

  • James Lo: Former McKinsey consultant and SoftBank executive (worked on WeWork, Arm transformations)
  • Daniel Mankowitz: Ex-DeepMind AI researcher (YouTube compression, Gemini, AlphaDev sorting algorithm)
  • Founded: 2024

Funding Details

  • Round: $22.75M Series A
  • Lead Investor: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
  • Other Investors: General Catalyst, XTX Markets, Evantic Capital, Common Magic

Market Position & Competition

Competitors

  • Interview AI: Listen Labs, Outset (conversational AI for interviews)
  • Expert Networks: GLG, Third Bridge, AlphaSights (traditional platforms)
  • Professional Networks: LinkedIn

Competitive Advantage

  • Voice as "original form of human communication" (per a16z's Anish Acharya)
  • Most people can't write compelling profiles but can speak naturally
  • Deeper skill capture vs. "shallow signals" of job titles

AI Lab Tailwind

Strategic Opportunity: AI labs are spending heavily to map human talent across professions (law, health, finance, management). This creates demand for expert networks to:

  • Build out AI models
  • Get feedback on products and strategy
  • Map economically valuable occupations

Lo describes this as "AI labs pointing a giant capital gun at every economically valuable occupation in the world."

Vision: Human + Agent Economy

"Over time, looking for a skill and capability is going to gradually merge between the human economy and the agent economy." - James Lo

The founders see expert matching evolving beyond just human-to-human connections as AI agents become economic participants.