Orbio raises $21 million to automate frontline worker management

Orbio, an enterprise software startup launched in 2025 by co-founders Sergi Bastardas, Nacho Travesí, and Antonio Melé, announced on Monday that it has raised $21 million in a Series A funding round. A Series A round represents a standard stage of venture capital financing. The investment was led by Dawn Capital, bringing Orbio’s total funding raised to date to $26 million. Other investors in the startup include Visionaries and 2100 Ventures. The company plans to use the fresh capital to hire and develop more AI agents—software entities that automate the hiring, onboarding, and management of frontline workers. Frontline workers include the 2.7 billion employees who keep industries like healthcare, retail, logistics, and hospitality running, many of whom do not have corporate email addresses.

The startup’s platform is already being used by corporate customers, including Poke and YUM! Brands. Additionally, behavioral health provider The Stepping Stones Group has deployed the software to run its entire U.S. operation. According to Bastardas, the organization saw 20% more candidates hired using Orbio’s automated system as they transitioned from initial pilots to full deployment.

Orbio’s AI agents are designed to handle tasks such as interviewing candidates, assessing fit, monitoring employee output, and conducting daily check-ins throughout the employment lifecycle. Bastardas explained that the agents operate in an interconnected loop, where onboarding signals inform recruiting quality, exit interviews reveal why employees leave to recalibrate hiring criteria, and engagement data identifies retention risks.

This automated approach aims to replace legacy management methods, which Bastardas noted sometimes still rely on fragmented processes like spreadsheets and phone calls. By automating these workflows, Orbio competes with other workforce management and recruitment startups, such as Paradox and WorkJam.

The company’s co-founders view the shift as a significant milestone for an underserved segment of 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,” Bastardas said.

Why it matters

Orbio is digitizing the fragmented, spreadsheet-heavy management of frontline workforces using AI agents. This addresses a labor sector that has historically lacked dedicated automation and communication tools.