Phenom strengthens AI hiring platform with Be Applied acquisition

Artificial intelligence-based human resources company Phenom People Inc. announced today that it has acquired Be Applied Ltd., an AI-driven cognitive assessment solution provider that validates candidate and worker capabilities at scale, for an undisclosed price.

Founded in 2016, Be Applied offers skills-based assessment solutions for hiring and talent evaluation with a platform that uses adaptive, evidence-based cognitive assessment tools to match specific job requirements and industry needs. The platform allows organizations to measure the actual abilities of candidates across different roles and experience levels.

Be Applied applies a design philosophy that centers on validating real skills and behaviors fairly than counting on traditional proxies like resumes or credentials alone. The concept is to make screening more predictive of actual job success while mitigating bias in evaluation.

To support its philosophy, Be Applied’s platform uses AI-enhanced assessments that tailor tests to the job’s specific competencies, similar to numerical reasoning or analytical problem-solving and adapts the questions based on responses to gauge capability accurately. The tests are built on behavioral science and cognitive research that’s designed to offer consistent, defensible evaluations even at high volume.

Be Applied’s platform integrates with applicant tracking systems and other hiring workflows in order that validated skills scores turn into a part of a recruiter’s regular process. The technology embeds objectively scored evaluations into the candidate experience to surface top performers early to enhance hiring efficiency and to assist teams reduce time-to-hire and scale screening.

The acquisition of Be Applied will supercharge Phenom’s industry-specific AI agents for skills-based hiring by adding latest cognitive assessment capabilities on top of existing behavioral, situational judgement and language assessment capabilities. The acquisition also strengthens Phenom’s end-to-end talent intelligence by embedding Be Applied’s adaptive, evidence-based assessments directly into the appliance and screening flow, improving completion rates and decision speed while maintaining scientific rigor.

Post-acquisition, Phenom says, enterprises will gain real-time, validated skills data that will be reused beyond hiring for skills mapping, workforce planning and internal mobility, making a consistent skills framework across all the talent lifecycle.

“Organizations are moving faster than ever at applying skills to hiring and so they need the infrastructure to support it,” said Phenom co-founder and Chief Executive Mahe Bayireddi. “Skills assessment agents are essential and Be Applied brings the assessment intelligence and data quality that turn intent into execution, so our customers could make faster, fairer and more precise talent decisions.”

Coming into its acquisition, Be Applied had raised $2.41 million in enterprise capital across two rounds, in response to data from Tracxn. Investors in the corporate included Blackbird Ventures Pty. Ltd., Skip Capital, Angel Academe Ltd., Impact Generation Partners, Behavioural Insights Ltd., Giant Leap Fund and Nesta Impact Investments Inc.

Image: Be Applied