In a nutshell
- Romanian co-founded Cascade AI, a startup that provides an AI assistant built to respond to HR inquiries, recently secured a €3.46 million seed investment.
- The round was led by Gradient, Google’s early-stage AI fund. Myriad Venture Partners and Success Venture Partners also participated.
- The new funding will be directed toward developing customer-requested features and expanding the Cascade AI platform to meet growing demand fueled by early customer success.
A funding led by Google’s early stage AI fund
The artificial intelligence in the HR market is driven by the growing interest in making decisions based on data – in multiple firms, mainly in developed countries. The market is projected to hit around $27.30 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 16.30% from 2024 to 2033.
Cascade AI is a US-based startup co-founded by Romanian entrepreneur Ana-Maria Constantin and partner Pulak Goyal. The startup provides a powerful AI assistant built to respond to HR related inquiries at an individual employee level.
Cascade AI announced they have recently raised €3.46 ($3.75) million in seed funding. The round was led by Gradient, Google’s early-stage AI fund. Myriad Venture Partners and Success Venture Partners also participated.
Ana-Maria Constantin, who has degrees in astrophysics and computer science, left Romania after high school to continue her studies in the United States, at Harvard. Before co-founding the startup, she was a software engineer at Microsoft. “Fast uptake from employees has proven that personalized HR support can be scaled in a way that both frees up HR and improves the employee experience,” said Ana-Maria Constantin, serving also as the CEO of Cascade AI.
Transforming HR operations with AI-powered assistance
“We see Cascade AI as a game-changer for both daily operations and complex initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, global growth, and other business transformation,” shared Eylul Kayin, Partner at Gradient, focused on early-stage investments in software, AI, and IT sectors, across North America and Europe.
According to the company, by implementing Cascade AI, customers have seen a 50% reduction in HR inquiry ticketing volume and expect up to 85% reduction as user adoption increases. Moreover, the platform provides a confidential channel for employees to seek guidance on complex topics such as mental health benefits, weight loss medication, career development, family leave policies, and wellness programs.
The new investment will be used to enhance the build out of customer-requested features. Moreover, Cascade AI plans to expand its platform to support increased demand driven by early customer successes.
Planned enhancements include creating AI agents to assist employees with tasks such as updating personal details and enrolling in benefits, advancing new reporting features like office-level utilization, and strengthening support for companies with global teams.
