Orbio (orbio.work), a Spain-based AI-native human capital management platform, has raised $21M in Series A funding led by Dawn Capital. Orbio deploys autonomous conversational AI agents to automate the employee lifecycle for frontline and deskless workers via WhatsApp, SMS, and voice. The capital will accelerate product development and global expansion.
Agentic AI Targets Frontline Hiring
The timing comes amid a wave of investment in HR automation. Shapes raised $24M in Seed and Series A rounds by December 2025, while TraqCheck secured $8M Series A in April 2026. Orbio's approach — purpose-built AI agents for the 2.7 billion deskless workers who lack corporate email — addresses a gap traditional HCM systems overlook.
Legacy HR Systems Ignore Deskless Workforce
Frontline industries face annual turnover exceeding 70 percent. Companies like Ribera Salud process 27,000 applications yearly with teams of just five recruiters. Orbio's platform has facilitated over 2 million candidate engagements and 20 million conversations with its agents since its June 2025 launch, serving more than 100 customers across 20 countries.
AI Agents Execute Full HR Workflows
Orbio built three specialized agents — Maria, Daniel, and Claire — that handle sourcing, screening, interviewing, onboarding, and retention monitoring 24/7 in over 60 languages. Unlike chatbots that only answer queries, these agents execute end-to-end processes and feed data back to refine matching. At The Stepping Stones Group, interview bookings rose from 65 percent to 85 percent while backout rates fell roughly 50 percent.
Serial Founders Bring Proven Exits
The three co-founders previously built and sold companies: Sergi Bastardas founded Colvin, Nacho Travesí co-founded Cobee (acquired by Pluxee), and Antonio Melé founded Nucoro (acquired by Backbase). Their combined track record, plus advisors from Workday and Job&Talent, helped secure enterprise clients including YUM! Brands, AT&T, Verisure, and Adecco within 14 months of launch.
Dawn Capital Validates Enterprise Focus
Dawn Capital led the round, joining existing investors Visionaries Club, Plus Partners, and Enzo Ventures. The firm’s enterprise SaaS expertise signals conviction that Orbio’s compliance-first architecture — ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and EU AI Act ready from day one — can win large deployments where legacy vendors dominate.
HR Tech Market Shifts to Agents
The global HR tech market stood at $47.51B in 2026 and is projected to reach $77.74B by 2031. AI in HR is expected to grow from $8.3B in 2026 to $16.83B by 2035. Capital is flowing to platforms that replace fragmented spreadsheets and phone-based processes with autonomous agents, a shift Orbio has captured faster than most peers.
Rapid Traction Signals Strong PMF
As CEO Sergi Bastardas noted:
"This will be a transformation for businesses, but also the workforce. The 2.7 billion people who keep healthcare, retail, logistics, and hospitality running, most of whom don't have a corporate email address, have previously got nothing. This is their AI moment."
With deployments already spanning healthcare, hospitality, retail, and staffing, Orbio has moved from early validation to scaling across Europe, Latin America, and the US.