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Khosla’s Keith Rabois backs Comp, which wants to bolster HR teams with AI
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Khosla’s Keith Rabois backs Comp, which wants to bolster HR teams with AI

#Comp #Khosla Ventures #Keith Rabois #HR tech #AI-powered HR #Brazil #Series A funding

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Comp raised $17.25 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures with Keith Rabois joining the board
  • The startup combines AI-powered HR software with 'forward-deployed' HR executives
  • Comp currently operates in Brazil and plans to expand to the U.S. and other countries
  • The company aims to eventually replace both traditional HR consultancies and HR software platforms

📖 Full Retelling

Christophe Gerlach and Pedro Bobrow raised $17.25 million in Series A funding for their HR tech startup Comp this week, with Khosla Ventures leading the investment and general partner Keith Rabois joining the board, as the company aims to disrupt traditional HR services in Brazil with AI-powered software solutions. The startup, which currently operates exclusively in Brazil, combines artificial intelligence with human expertise to provide comprehensive HR solutions including recruitment assistance, compensation policy development, and performance review system design. Comp distinguishes itself through its 'forward-deployed' HR executives—former HR professionals who work directly with clients as extensions of their teams rather than as traditional consultants. These executives play a dual role by providing immediate value while simultaneously training the AI system with best practices, creating a self-improving technology platform. The founders, who previously built and sold a food delivery startup while at Cornell University, identified a gap in Brazil's HR tech landscape where many companies lack sophisticated HR software, allowing Comp to introduce an entirely new automated model without competing with established platforms. The company has already gained significant traction in Brazil, serving clients including Nubank, QuintoAndar, Creditas, and 'pretty much every unicorn in Brazil,' according to Gerlach, with ambitions to expand into the U.S. and other international markets in the near future.

🏷️ Themes

AI in HR, Startup funding, Brazil tech market

📚 Related People & Topics

Comp

Topics referred to by the same term

Comp, COMP or Comps may refer to:

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Keith Rabois

Keith Rabois

American technology executive and investor

Keith Rabois (born March 17, 1969) is an American technology executive and investor. He is a managing director at Khosla Ventures. He was an early-stage startup investor, and executive, at PayPal, LinkedIn, Slide, and Square.

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Brazil

Brazil

Country in South America

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over 213 million people. The country is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hos...

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Khosla Ventures

American venture capital firm

Khosla Ventures is a private American venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. It was founded by entrepreneur Vinod Khosla in 2004 and as of 2021 had approximately US$15 billion in assets under management. The firm works with early-stage companies in the Internet, computing, mobile tech...

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Original Source
After graduating from Cornell University, Christophe Gerlach spent nearly two years investing exclusively in HR tech startups for General Atlantic. Investing was exciting, but Gerlach was yearning to get back into entrepreneurship. While at Cornell, Gerlach (pictured above, right) built and sold a food delivery startup alongside classmate Pedro Bobrow (pictured above, left), a Brazilian native. Then in late 2022, Gerlach and Bobrow (previously a product manager at Lyft) teamed up again, merging their sector expertise and cultural roots to launch Comp, an HR tech startup focused on Brazil. Comp is building AI-powered HR software that can assist with tasks like recruiting, setting compensation policies and designing performance review systems. The startup also provides “forward-deployed” experts — former HR executives — who work with customers to design strategies for compensation, performance, and recruiting. While companies in Brazil often hire compensation consultants, Gerlach says its forward-deployed HR executives shouldn’t be viewed as consultants, but rather as extensions of existing HR teams. These executives also play a critical role in refining Comp’s technology. “Our forward-deployed HR execs do all the work manually at first, and then they use that work to train the AI how to think in best practices,” Gerlach said. The idea, of course, is that over time, Comp’s AI agents will become fully autonomous and capable of performing traditional HR functions. While Comp currently offers AI-supported HR services augmented by professionals, its goal is to displace both traditional consultancies and HR software. As Gerlach puts it: “Rippling sells software to junior HR teams to make them more productive. We become the HR team.” Techcrunch event Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and inve...
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