Multiverse Expands with Searchlight Acquisition

Multiverse, a UK-based unicorn, has acquired Searchlight, a startup specializing in AI-powered recruitment platforms.

Multiverse, a unicorn based in the United Kingdom, creates apprenticeship programs in which individuals study technology on the job. In an effort to strengthen its position, the company has acquired another unicorn. Searchlight is a startup and recruitment platform that the firm acquired. It sources talent using artificial intelligence technology. The idea is for Multiverse to expand its professional training services by utilizing Searchlight’s technology to create new AI products.

“Searchlight’s AI, platform, and exceptional talent will allow us to better diagnose the skills needed within companies and deliver impactful solutions,” stated Euan Blair, founder and CEO of Multiverse, in a statement. “More businesses and people will reap the benefits when we merge our size and expertise with Searchlight’s technology and staff.”

Kerry and Anna Wang, identical twins and the current CEO and CTO of Searchlight, co-founded the company. It will continue to serve its current customers, including software companies like Udemy, Zapier, and Talkdesk, up until their contracts expire. Following that, with a focus on Multiverse’s operations, Searchlight will presumably phase out its recruitment services.

The acquisition highlights the growing impact of AI in the fields of education and employment. While some will employ AI to accomplish tasks more quickly, others will assert that AI is replacing human workers in specific occupations. Making better use of professional training services to fill recruitment gaps is the third area where AI is making an appearance, and this acquisition aims to solve that.

AI and recruiting haven’t always gotten along. Because it was trained on usual recruitment data, which mostly consisted of males, an AI recruiting tool that Amazon famously had to abandon was intrinsically biased against women for technical positions. According to Searchlight’s CEO, who spoke with the media, technology has made great strides since then, particularly in terms of raising understanding about the process of building and training models. 

According to Wang, our AI model can identify a good match for a post four times more effectively than a traditional interview. Greater economic opportunity for all people is the same issue that we’re working to resolve. Although Multiverse was successful in the past, the company is now planning to diversify into a more comprehensive workforce development platform. While Anna takes over as head of AI at Multiverse, Kerry joins the team as product director.

Blair, the son of former UK prime minister Tony Blair and renowned barrister Cherie Booth Blair, founded and runs Multiverse. Among its approximately 1,000 current and former clients are Cisco, government organizations, financial services, and industrial companies.