Opground

Opground, a Barcelona-based firm established in 2019, operates an AI-driven platform designed to streamline the recruitment process in the technology sector. The company was founded by Eduard Teixidó (CEO), Jordi Vall (COO), and Marcel Gozalbo (CTO). The founding team's complimentary expertise, with Teixidó's background in mechanical engineering and software, Vall's in law and economics, and Gozalbo's decade of experience as a software architect, was a strategic decision to build a robust, product-focused company. The idea stemmed from the founders' own previous frustrations in finding the right talent for entrepreneurial ventures.

Opground's core business revolves around resolving inefficiencies in technical hiring for both companies and candidates. Its proprietary AI technology facilitates connections based on a multi-faceted analysis of skills, needs, and professional ambitions, moving beyond simple keyword matching. The platform is offered through two distinct solutions. The primary offering, Opground.com, is a global employment platform targeting tech professionals who are not actively job hunting. For candidates, it's a free service where they complete a single, in-depth interview with an AI chatbot named Opi. This one-time process makes them discoverable by numerous companies simultaneously while maintaining their anonymity until they choose to engage with an offer. For companies, the platform provides a pre-vetted pool of passive talent, delivering a shortlist of suitable candidates in under five minutes. The business model for this service is success-based, where enterprises pay only when a mutual interest is established.

The second product, Merita, is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution tailored for recruitment firms and IT consultancies. Merita is engineered to accelerate their processes by automating key back-office tasks. It features an intelligent search engine for a firm's internal database, provides access to a pre-interviewed and evaluated talent pool, and automatically identifies potential client vacancies that align with the available talent. This allows recruitment agencies to focus on client relations and final candidate evaluations.

Since its inception, Opground has secured funding to fuel its growth. In late 2021, the company raised a seed round of over €500,000, led by FI Group. This was followed by another funding round in 2024. Investors include FI Nvest, ENISA, and notable individuals like the former CEO of Infojobs, Jaume Gurt.

Keywords: HR tech, AI recruitment, tech talent marketplace, passive candidate sourcing, automated interviews, recruitment automation, hiring platform, IT professionals, developer jobs, SaaS, virtual recruiter, candidate matching, professional growth platform, talent acquisition, bias-free hiring, skills-based hiring, Opi chatbot, Merita, technical recruiting, career coaching AI