Ethos raises $22.75 million for its voice-based expert network

In short: London-based Ethos raised $22.75 million to expand an expert network that uses voice interviews to understand what people know beyond their job titles.

What happened

Ethos, a startup founded in 2024, announced a $22.75 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, with participation from General Catalyst, XTX Markets, Evantic Capital, and Common Magic.

Ethos runs an “expert network,” which is a service companies use when they need to talk to knowledgeable people quickly. Think of it like paying for a short call with someone who has done the work before, such as a doctor, an engineer, or a former employee of a specific type of company.

Ethos says many expert platforms rely too much on job titles and short profiles. Its approach starts with voice-based onboarding, which means new experts answer spoken questions instead of filling out a form. Ethos says this helps capture details like niche skills and past projects that a title like “product manager” might not show.

Ethos also says it is onboarding about 35,000 experts per week. It does not publicly name its customers, but says it is used by hedge funds, private equity firms, AI labs, and consulting firms. The company charges businesses a per-project fee, which it said is 30% or more depending on the project.

Why it matters

For regular people, this is another sign that hiring and professional advice are becoming more “searchable.” If Ethos works as intended, companies may find the right specialist faster, and more people could get paid for specific knowledge, even if their job title does not fully describe what they can do.

Source: TechCrunch AI