Orbio Automates Hiring and Onboarding for Frontline Workers

Orbio, an enterprise startup founded by Sergi Bastardas, has secured $21 million in Series A funding to help businesses manage frontline workers using AI agents. This is a significant step towards automating the hiring and onboarding process for frontline employees.

> After working at Amazon and a floriculture startup, Bastardas realized the need for efficient "human infrastructure" to manage frontline workers. He took this feeling and launched Orbio in 2025, alongside his co-founders Nacho Travesí and Antonio Melé.

> Orbio's platform is designed to help businesses run their workforces autonomously. The AI agents can interview candidates, assess fit, monitor employee output, and conduct daily check-ins throughout an employee's work lifecycle. The goal is to help businesses engage and support their frontline workforces while also delegating some workforce operations to AI agents.

> The Orbio agents generate data that feeds back into the others. Onboarding signals inform recruiting quality; exit interviews reveal why employees leave, which recalibrates hiring criteria; engagement data identifies retention risks. This data-driven approach helps businesses make informed decisions and improve their hiring process.

> Orbio competes with several startups, such as Paradox, which helps automate recruiting, and WorkJam, which helps manage frontline employees. However, Bastardas considers Orbio's biggest competitor to be the legacy approach to managing frontline workers, which often involves spreadsheets and phone calls.

> The fresh capital will be used to hire and develop more AI agents. Bastardas said, "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."

> Orbio has raised $26 million in funding to date from investors, including Visionaries and 2100 Ventures. The company's platform has already been adopted by customers such as Poke and YUM! Brands, and is now being used to onboard and manage their frontline employees.