As workers are looking to change careers, a Bay Area startup is trying to help some find new employers faster.
San Francisco-based Ramped has developed a jobs site with a twist. It offers online training for job seekers, helping them earn credentials and experience to make them more attractive to top employers.
More than half of all job seekers submit at least 21 applications before receiving an offer, according to Zippia. But on average, Ramped users who take advantage of its skills assessments find find a job after submitting just five applications, the company — legally known as Ramped Careers Inc. — said in a news release.
"You always hear that finding a full-time job is a full-time job, but that doesn’t have to be the case anymore," Danny Leonard, Ramped's co-founder, said in the press release.
Others are seeing its potential. The company recently attracted $3.1 million in seed funding. It plans to use its new cash to ramp up its sales and marketing and expand its product offering, according to its release.
Here's more on Ramped's new round and other seed funding news from this past week:
Ponto Software Inc., San Francisco, $20 million: General Catalyst, Polychain and NOMO VC led the round for this provider of blockchain-based payments software. LocalGlobe, 186 Ventures, 468 Capital, BoxGroup, EchoVC, 6th Man, Flori, Alchemy, Table Management and Chapter One also invested.
Solo AVT Inc., Fremont, $7 million: Trucks VC led the round for this developer of an electric-powered freight truck designed to be driven autonomously by other companies' self-driving software. Maniv Mobility and Wireframe Ventures also participated.
Block Tackle Inc., San Francisco, $5 million: Animoca Brands, Coinbase Ventures, Solana Ventures invested in the round for this developer of video games that support non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, that was founded by veterans of Electronic Arts Inc., Roblox Corp., Apple Inc., Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Drone Racing League Inc.
Formfunction Inc., San Francisco, $4.7 million: Variant Fund led the round for this developer of a marketplace for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, that's based on the Solana blockchain. Solana Ventures, Canonical Crypto, Pear VC, Palm Tree Crew Crypto and OpenSea Ventures also invested.
Ramped Careers Inc. (dba Ramped), San Francisco, $3.1 million: Hustle Fund, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Workplay Ventures invested in the round for this provider of a jobs marketplace that also offers online training for job seekers. Vastly Viable Ventures, Eudemian Ventures, ETF@JFFLabs, Graph Ventures and Operate VC also participated.
