London, 9th November 2021: hundo, the first social impact business built for the metaverse, has
raised $2 million of seed funding. The announcement follows hundo’s partnerships with major UK
employers including Reed Global, BUPA and Matrix SCM. The investment round was led by
Ascension VC, with Moscar Capital and Outlier Ventures alongside a number of Angel investors.

hundo was founded by Esther O’Callaghan OBE and Piers Collins, building on first-hand experience of
working with disadvantaged youth communities and a vision to tackle inequalities in how companies
find and hire young talent from diverse backgrounds. hundo, which plans to secure Series A funding
in 2022, will now rapidly scale to bridge the widening gap between education and skills and increase
employment opportunity for Gen Z.

Through its “Career Collab”, hundo provides an early talent acquisition model that delivers higher
ROI, attraction and retention rates compared to job boards and recruitment.

Commenting on the funding announcement, hundo co-founder Esther O’Callaghan OBE states: “At the heart of hundo is a belief that it is possible to scale an agile solution that empowers young people to own their future through decent, paid employment that is the basic foundation for them to build their lives from. Ultimately, young people will be able to learn, work and earn online through the hundo platform wherever they are in the world.”

The success for hundo is in the numbers – with 50% of hundo candidates coming from significantly
disadvantaged backgrounds, and a staggering 84% of young people coming through hundo still
employed 12 months later.
O’Callaghan added: “hundo is the product of my life’s work. The level of funding we have attracted,
in such a short period, is testament to the impact hundo has made thus far and the confidence
investors have in our solution.
“Three million new tech roles will be needed by 2025. hundo has joined the Outlier Ventures
Basecamp Accelerator to fast track our next gen EdTech platform that will empower young people
from all backgrounds to embrace and be ready to work with web3 and the metaverse.”

Sam Marchant from Ascension VC said: “hundo has developed a market leading solution to support young people achieve full-time employment. The hundo team are exceptional, mission driven and have shown strong execution in developing the platform. We are excited to be leading this investment round from our Fair by Design Fund, which supports businesses aiming to alleviate the Poverty Premium (the extra cost of being poor).”

Jo Patterson, Managing Director of 3Monkeys Zeno said: “hundo presents a fascinating solution to a problem which the communications industry faces every day – how to ensure our workforce represents the people we’re trying to communicate with. I’m excited to back such a forward-thinking company with a real solution to improving diverse representation in large companies and help us foster more creative thinking and inclusive work environments.”

hundo has been twice featured as “best practice” in youth employment, by the Government
Department for Work and Pensions, and was the winner of the 2020 BCG Digital Boost Social Impact
Business of the Year and the UKRI Top 5% Innovate UK Award.

Ahead of the Series A funding round scheduled for late 2022, hundo are calling for more businesses
and education providers to join them in tackling this issue which, for too long, has gone unsolved by
policy makers and Government. For more information on how hundo can help your business, visit
https://hundo.careers/employer-solution, and read more on the hundo seed funding announcement
here.

Ends

About hundo:
hundo.careers is an end-to-end entry-level talent solution designed to more effectively connect
forward-thinking employers with Gen Z talent through a model that brings EdTech and HRTech
together in one dynamic marketplace. In 2022, hundo will unveil its first move into the metaverse.

Press office contact for hundo.careers:
[email protected]