Talent Acquisition Suites Software
Hirize is an AI-based resume parsing and matching API founded in December 2021 and headquartered with a distributed team split between Europe and Istanbul, Turkey. The company targets HR vendors, job boards, applicant tracking systems, and enterprise companies that need to connect resume data into platforms such as Oracle, SAP, and Greenhouse. Hirize positions itself as a modern replacement for legacy outsourced parsing APIs, arguing that roughly 80 percent of HR tech companies rely on outdated technology that causes approximately 30 percent of job applicants to be rejected due to technical failures rather than qualifications.
The company launched its first paywall in April 2023, roughly two months before this interview, and converted 12 of its 80 active beta users into paying customers, reaching $14,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Hirize raised a $1 million pre-seed SAFE round in October 2022 at a $10 million valuation cap, led by APX, the venture fund backed by Axel Springer and Porsche. At the time of the interview, the company was actively raising a $2 million seed round targeting a $20 million valuation.
CEO Esra Kaygin, a second-time founder with seven years of venture capital experience and a prior successful exit, leads the company alongside a co-founder who serves as CTO. The team totaled seven people, a mix of full-time and part-time staff, with the majority of engineering based in Istanbul to manage costs. With roughly $200,000 to $250,000 remaining in the bank, Kaygin estimated six to seven months of runway at the time of the interview.