Fika Jobs Raises $4M for AI-Powered Video Interview Platform

The traditional job application process has long frustrated both candidates and employers. Applicants invest hours crafting resumes and cover letters, often never hearing back. Meanwhile, the rise of generative AI has compounded the problem, flooding companies with applications that are screened by automated systems, making it even harder for promising individuals to get noticed.

Enter Fika Jobs, a Stockholm-based startup that is reimagining hiring with a video-first platform that blends the professional networking of LinkedIn with the short-form appeal of TikTok. Instead of relying solely on static documents, candidates complete AI-powered video interviews designed to highlight their personality and communication skills. The company has just announced a $4 million pre-seed funding round to fuel further development, team expansion, and a broader launch later this year.

The process is streamlined for job seekers. After connecting their LinkedIn profile, Fika’s AI analyzes their background and generates tailored interview questions. Candidates then record a roughly 10-minute video session with the AI agent, which is currently powered by Google’s Gemini models. Once complete, the platform automatically edits the responses into short video clips and organizes them into a dynamic profile. Rather than applying to each new role individually, candidates maintain a live profile that employers can discover and revisit as opportunities arise.

The concept was born from a personal experience. Co-founders and brothers Jakob Dubois (CEO) and Alexander Dubois (CTO) were building their previous social app, Gaff, when a near-miss with a candidate changed their perspective. “We spent a lot of time recruiting and almost passed on a candidate because his resume did not really stand out,” Jakob Dubois told TechCrunch. “We ended up speaking with him anyway, and within minutes, his grit, drive, and ambition became obvious. Exactly the kind of person we wanted to hire.”

That encounter convinced the founders that crucial traits like drive and ambition are often invisible on paper. Unlike competitors such as Alex, Maki, and Mercor, which focus on helping employers screen and match candidates more efficiently, Fika Jobs is building a talent pool of pre-interviewed, video-profiled candidates. Employers can browse this pool and assess communication skills and cultural fit early in the process, complementing traditional resume reviews. This approach could be especially valuable for early-career professionals and those from non-traditional backgrounds, whose potential may not shine through on a resume alone.

However, video-first hiring introduces legitimate bias risks. When employers can see a candidate’s race, age, gender, physical appearance, and accent before evaluating qualifications, it opens the door to discrimination that a resume, for all its flaws, at least partially obscures. This is precisely why some companies have moved toward blind resume screening.

Despite these challenges, Fika Jobs is moving forward. The platform will open early access to candidates this week, with a broader public launch expected this fall. The company will initially focus on Sweden before expanding internationally. The team is currently small but expects to reach around 10 employees by the end of the year. More than 100 companies are on the waitlist, and over 50 have already tested the platform, including Plenty Labs, SICS.ai, Kognity, and Rebtel.

The platform is free for job seekers. Employers pay nothing upfront, but Fika takes a 10% fee of a candidate’s first-year salary upon a successful hire, which is notably lower than the 20% to 30% placement fees often charged by traditional recruiters. The funding round was led by Luminar Ventures, with participation from Alliance VC and King co-founders Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, the duo behind the hit mobile game Candy Crush.