Enterprise AI startup Orbio has raised $21 million in a Series A funding round led by Dawn Capital, marking a significant milestone in its mission to transform frontline workforce management through artificial intelligence. Founded in 2025 by Sergi Bastardas, alongside co-founders Nacho Travesí and Antonio Melé, the company aims to help businesses recruit, onboard, manage, and retain frontline employees using AI-powered agents.
The idea for Orbio emerged from Bastardas’ decade-long experience at Amazon and floriculture startup Colvin, where he observed persistent inefficiencies in managing frontline workers. Recognizing the lack of effective “human infrastructure” behind workforce operations, he and his co-founders developed a platform designed to automate and optimize employee management processes.
Orbio currently serves a growing list of enterprise customers, including Poke and YUM! Brands—the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC. Bastardas said that many customers have moved beyond pilot programs and now use the platform across core business operations. He cited behavioral healthcare provider The Stepping Stones Group as an example, noting that Orbio now manages the company’s entire U.S. operation and has increased successful candidate hires by 20%.
At the heart of Orbio’s platform are AI agents named Maria, Daniel, and Claire. These virtual workforce assistants conduct candidate interviews, evaluate job fit, monitor employee performance, and perform daily check-ins throughout the employee lifecycle. By automating these critical workforce functions, Orbio enables organizations to operate more efficiently while maintaining stronger engagement with frontline employees.
The platform’s AI ecosystem continuously learns and improves through interconnected data flows. Each AI agent generates insights that inform the others, creating a feedback loop that enhances workforce management. Recruitment data influences hiring quality, exit interviews reveal employee turnover patterns that refine recruitment criteria, and engagement metrics help identify retention risks before they become significant challenges.
As businesses increasingly adopt AI-driven solutions, Orbio competes with workforce technology companies such as Paradox, which specializes in recruiting automation, and WorkJam, which focuses on frontline employee management. However, Bastardas believes the company’s primary competition comes from traditional workforce management methods that continue to rely on fragmented systems, spreadsheets, phone calls, and manual processes, particularly across healthcare, retail, and logistics sectors.
The rise of artificial intelligence is rapidly changing this landscape. By introducing autonomous workforce operations, Orbio seeks to replace outdated practices with scalable, data-driven systems capable of managing large employee populations more effectively.
To date, Orbio has secured a total of $26 million in funding from investors, including Visionaries and 2100 Ventures. The company plans to use the latest capital injection to expand its team and develop additional AI agents capable of handling more workforce management tasks.
Discussing the broader impact of AI on frontline workers, Bastardas emphasized the opportunity to bring advanced technology to a historically underserved workforce segment. “This will be [a] transformation for businesses, but also the workforce,” Bastardas said. “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.”
As organizations seek more efficient ways to manage large-scale workforces, Orbio’s AI-first approach positions the company at the forefront of a rapidly evolving HR technology and workforce automation market.
