Litmus
YC S26New York City, US · Founded 2025 · 3 employees · 4 known investors
Find your way into Litmus
583 people in our graph share verified history with the Litmus team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Tanya Jomaaunlockedknows Shaivi Rau · together at Morgan Stanley (overlapped)
×3knows the team · via Massachusetts Institute of Technology
knows the team · via Morgan Stanley
×3knows the team · via Columbia University
×3knows the team · via Deerfield Academy
knows the team · via Singapore American School
Litmus is a hiring platform that evaluates software engineers through practical assessments aligned with how modern engineering teams actually work, replacing traditional interview processes.
Also known as Avert
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR TechRecruitingData EngineeringAIUnited States of AmericaAmerica / Canada
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S26)
Litmus was founded in 2025 by Shaivi Rau and Elena Zhao.
SR
Shaivi Rauin𝕏Co-Founder, CEOShaivi Rau is CEO of Litmus and previously worked at Morgan Stanley, early-stage companies, and in venture capital. She studied computer science and film at Columbia.
EZ
Elena Zhaoin𝕏Co-Founder, CTOElena Zhao is the founder of Litmus, a hiring platform that evaluates software engineers through practical assessments.
Investors · 4
Vela PartnersSan Francisco · $100K – $500K
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
Insight Partnersreported · 2 sourcesNew York · $120M – $350M
Also in the syndicate · 1
Beldenlead
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeries BSep 2022 · 2 sources
Belden (lead)
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
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Competitors · 2
by search overlap
Litmos3 shared keywordsLitmos is a learning platform that helps organizations build workforce capabilities through AI-powered learning, personalized experiences, and integration with business systems. It serves enterprises seeking to accelerate employee productivity, enable customer education, and measure learning outcomes against business goals.
Lummus3 shared keywordsLummus Technology is a global technology provider offering expertise across science, engineering, and technology to serve industrial customers. The company operates through specialized capabilities and affiliate companies to deliver solutions across multiple domains.
Companies competing with Litmus for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Litmus do?
- Litmus is a hiring platform that evaluates software engineers through practical assessments aligned with how modern engineering teams actually work, replacing traditional interview processes.
- Who founded Litmus?
- Litmus was founded by Shaivi Rau, Elena Zhao in 2025.
- Who are Litmus's investors?
- Litmus's investors include Vela Partners, Y Combinator, Insight Partners.
- Where is Litmus headquartered?
- Litmus is headquartered in New York City, US.