Anonymous professional networking platform Grapevine has raised $4.1 million (about ₹37–38 crore) in a financing round led by Kae Capital, Peak XV Partners and Unilazer Ventures, the Bengaluru-based startup said, as it pivots deeper into artificial intelligence to transform how professionals find and apply for jobs in India.
Funding to accelerate AI-driven hiring products
The fresh capital will be deployed to scale Grapevine’s AI offerings, including its newly launched Talent Agent Layer (TAL) and the interview-preparation product Round1. The company said it will invest in product development, refine matching algorithms and expand adoption among technology and startup professionals across India.
Grapevine has grown a community of more than one million users, primarily from India’s startup ecosystem, and investors backing the round cited the platform’s real-time community data and AI capabilities as differentiators from traditional job sites.
TAL: an AI agent for proactive job discovery
TAL is an AI-powered agent designed to invert the conventional job-search workflow. Rather than requiring users to comb through listings, the agent continuously scans opportunities and proactively recommends roles that align with a user’s profile, preferences and activity on the platform.
By analysing career interests, skills and community-driven signals such as discussions on salaries and company culture, TAL aims to reduce irrelevant applications and increase role fit. The approach shifts much of the discovery workload from the user to an intelligent system, improving efficiency for both candidates and recruiters.
From anonymous discussions to a full-stack career platform
Founded in 2023 by Saumil Tripathi, Jainam Talsania and Shreeyash Dharmadhikari, Grapevine began as an anonymous forum where professionals discussed layoffs, compensation and workplace issues. That community-generated data helped the startup surface trends and user needs, informing its product roadmap.
With TAL and enhanced AI tools, Grapevine is evolving into a full-stack career-tech platform that combines community insights, job discovery and interview preparation. As AI reshapes recruitment globally, the startup aims to make hiring more personalised, faster and data-driven for India’s next-generation workforce.
