Ethos raises $22.75M to modernize expert networks with voice AI

London-based Ethos has raised $22.75 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z to scale its expert network—a platform that connects companies with industry experts for advice and insights. Ethos uses voice-powered onboarding to collect data on expert knowledge that traditional job titles do not cover. Other investors participating in the funding round include General Catalyst, XTX Markets, Evantic Capital, and Common Magic.

The startup, founded in 2024 by James Lo and Daniel Mankowitz, aims to challenge legacy platforms like LinkedIn, GLG, Third Bridge, and AlphaSights. Ethos contrasts its approach with these traditional models:

• Legacy platforms: Rely on static forms where experts input job titles and descriptions, which often yield shallow signals and fail to capture specific capabilities.
• Ethos’s model: Uses voice-powered onboarding to conduct interviews, asking a broader set of questions to extract deeper data on specific skills and sub-specializations.

Co-founder James Lo explained that employers are not looking for a job title company, but rather specific skills and capabilities. He noted that, over time, looking for a skill and capability is going to gradually merge between the human economy and the agent economy.

According to a16z partner Anish Acharya, voice is a major unlock for the platform because most people do not know how to write their professional stories in a succinct, compelling, and accurate way.

Ethos is scaling its operations with a team of eight people. The company charges a per-project fee of 30% or more and is on track for an eight-figure annualized revenue. Roughly 35,000 people are joining the platform each week. While startups like Listen Labs and Outset offer competition in voice-based interviewing, Ethos is focusing its network on connecting companies with industry experts, particularly targeting demand from AI labs that are building professional services.

Lo noted that AI labs are actively trying to map out every economically valuable occupation in the world, creating a significant tailwind for the company. “Our perspective here is the AI labs have — are pointing a giant capital gun at every economically valuable occupation in the world. They’re trying to map out every profession. And so that’s an amazing tailwind for us,” Lo said.

Why it matters

Ethos is leveraging voice-based AI to capture deeper expert data than traditional platforms like LinkedIn, positioning itself to capitalize on the demand from AI labs that are actively mapping human talent.