Startups

Bellevue AI Hiring Startup Humanly Acquires Anthill in Latest Expansion Push

Seattle Today Newsroom
April 16, 2026
Picture Credit: GeekWire
Picture Credit: GeekWire

Bellevue-based Humanly, a startup that builds AI-powered interviewing and recruiting tools for employers, has acquired Anthill, a Chicago-based platform designed to help companies connect with and support frontline employees, marking the company’s fourth acquisition in just over a year.

The deal adds what Humanly describes as post-hire engagement capabilities to its existing suite of tools, which help organizations attract, screen, and interview job candidates. Humanly said it will continue operating the Anthill platform independently while exploring how to integrate its capabilities into the broader Humanly offering. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Picture Credit: www.anthill.co

Founded in 2018 and led by CEO Prem Kumar, Humanly last week announced a $25 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $52 million. The company acquired three recruiting technology companies last year, Sprockets, Qualifi, and HourWork, signalling an aggressive growth strategy centered on building a more comprehensive talent management platform.

Anthill was founded in 2020 by Muriel Clauson Closs, Young-Jae Kim, and Laura Silvester and had raised approximately $10 million in funding. The platform was built to help frontline managers and distributed teams stay connected through messaging, feedback tools, and operational support, addressing a segment of the workforce that has historically been underserved by enterprise HR technology.

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