HiPeople

HiPeople is a Berlin-based HR technology company that sells an integrated hiring platform covering four product areas: resume screening, skills assessments, AI-conducted interviews, and automated reference checks. Each module can be purchased and used standalone or in combination. The screening product applies AI to high-volume inbound applications in real time and filters fraudulent or spam applications; the interview product conducts candidate interviews on demand in up to 113 languages against employer-defined evaluation criteria.

The assessment product draws on a library of more than 400 tests spanning hard skills, personality, soft skills, cognitive abilities and culture, plus more than 1,000 job-specific assessment templates and custom text, multiple-choice or video questions. Results are returned as comparative reports, with a fraud-detection suite that restricts activity outside the assessment screen, tracks metadata and uses video questions. The reference-check product automates the full workflow — inviting candidates by email or text, having candidates nominate references, following up, and analysing responses into reports — using verification and fraud-detection algorithms and, per the company, completing checks in under 24 hours. Reference contacts can also be converted into a sourcing pool.

The company positions its methodology as evidence-based, with an in-house science team that reviews psychometric research and updates its assessment modules. The platform is SOC 2 Type II certified and states GDPR and CCPA compliance.

Founding story

HiPeople was founded by Jakob Gillmann and Sebastian Schüller, who first met in 2011 during a tech internship at Simfy. Gillmann previously worked at Peakon and Optimizely and left Adjust to build HiPeople; Schüller previously ran the Berlin office of early-stage VC Capnamic Ventures and before that worked at Google in Dublin as a growth strategist. The founders' premise was that CVs are a weak link in recruitment and that structured reference checks allow verification of past performance and job fit.

Business model

B2B SaaS sold to employers' talent acquisition teams, with self-serve entry ("start for free") and demo-led sales; products are available individually or bundled on a combined plan.

Subscription plans for the screening, assessment, interview and reference-check products, which customers can license separately or together.

Traction

More than 2,000 teams reported using the platform. Customers cited include Celonis, SumUp, GraphCMS and Prisma. Customer testimonials describe outcomes such as a 31% reduction in time-to-fill with 62% more hires, roughly 50% reduction in screening work for volume hiring, and 250–500 screening hours saved per year.

Latest developments

Recent product content covers the launch of Disqualifiers, AI readiness and risk assessment for workforces, and MCP as a layer for recruiting, alongside an expanded platform spanning AI screening and 24/7 AI interviews in 113 languages.