Vahan.ai Bags Strategic Investment From Temasek's LemmaTree, Buys L.earn

AI recruitment platform for blue-collar workers Vahan.ai has bagged a strategic investment from Temasek-founded investment firm LemmaTree. Alongside this transaction, Vahan.ai has also acquired L.earn, the digital learning and upskilling tech platform of GoodWorker.

However, the company did not disclose the financial transactions of the deals.

Vahan.ai plans to use the fresh capital to scale up its tech stack and increase its monthly job placements from 40,000 to 1 Lakh. Alongside, the acquisition of L.earn will allow it to integrate skilling directly into the job-seeking process.

Founded by Madhav Krishna in 2016, Vahan.ai uses AI-powered chatbot technology to help companies quickly find and hire blue-collar workers. It offers end-to-end staffing services, including recruitment and payroll, and claims to reduce the time taken to fill roles by at least 20%.

The company claims to have placed over 1 Mn blue-collar workers across more than 920 cities, working with employers such as Zepto, Swiggy, Blinkit, and Zomato.

The platform plans to expand into eight more Indian languages and enter high-growth sectors, with a focus on deeper penetration in Tier II and III markets. It also aims to expand into international markets such as Southeast Asia and the MENA region.

Earlier this year, Vahan.ai raised an undisclosed amount from Tokyo-based PERSOL Group. Before that, it had raised $10 Mn in a Series B round from Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, Gaingels, and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Vahan.ai competes with the likes of Apna, WorkIndia, MyJobee, and Job Hai in the Indian blue-collar and gig worker recruitment space.

Meanwhile, L.earn offers mobile-first, vernacular content tailored for gig and frontline workers across sectors such as logistics, manufacturing, and retail. L.earn was a platform by GoodWorker, a Bengaluru-based recruitment and learning platform for blue- and grey-collar workers.

Founded in 2020, GoodWorker was established as a joint venture between SchoolNet India and LemmaTree. A TechAsia report from 2023 noted that GoodWorker have shut down, with Temasek reportedly writing off about half of its investment in the company.

The blue-collar and gig worker recruitment space that Vahan.ai operates in has witnessed significant growth, driven by rising demand from quick-commerce players, ride-hailing platforms, consumer service and the rapid expansion of online aggregator platforms over the past decade.

As per NITI Aayog estimates, India’s gig economy is projected to include 23.5 Mn workers by 2029-30, potentially contributing 1.25% to the country’s GDP by 2030. With more people entering gig work, sectors such as quick commerce, ecommerce, logistics, ride-hailing, and freelance services are also expected to grow.

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