High 7 HR Startups for 2025 

1. Lottie

Founders: Chris Donnelly and Will Donnelly

The Carer’s Depart Act was launched in April 2024, permitting staff to take day off work to take care of sick, aged or disabled kinfolk. Whereas this can be a optimistic step ahead, it solely actually presents a brief resolution to a rising drawback within the UK, which is discovering the suitable care.

Brothers Chris and Will Donnelly found this whereas attempting to supply an appropriate care dwelling for his or her grandmother, thus inspiring them to develop Lottie – a platform that helps households simply evaluate and select care properties, dwelling care and retirement properties. 

A well-deserved winner of this yr’s Startups 100 Index, Lottie raised $21 million (roughly £16 million) in July 2024, serving to the corporate proceed its mission of revolutionising the care trade.

2. Zero Gravity

Founder: Joe Seddon

For individuals with deprived backgrounds, stepping into good-paying jobs is commonly loads harder – confirmed by the UK’s class pay hole of 18%.

Zero Gravity is working to vary that by providing a matchmaking-like platform that enables college students of all backgrounds to attach with over 750 state faculties and important connections, reminiscent of mentors, universities or employers.

Teaming up with main establishments like HSBC, KPMG and Morgan Stanley, Zero Gravity is all about serving to college students get into prime universities and land the absolute best careers. By way of its dedication to breaking down the limitations, its platform is levelling the taking part in discipline, ensuring that expertise – not background – decides success.

3. Sona

Founders: Steffen Wulf Petersen, Oli Johnson and Ben Dixon

Even with the quantity of superior know-how obtainable nowadays, some industries, reminiscent of healthcare and hospitality, are nonetheless lagging. From sluggish and outdated techniques to difficult processes for payroll and vacation go away, many companies are struggling to maintain up with managing their workforce.

Sona was developed to alleviate these ache factors – providing an AI-powered workforce administration platform that streamlines the same old administrative duties (e.g. shift scheduling and payroll processing), to assist companies save time, cut back errors and enhance general effectivity.

Having raised $27.5 million (roughly £22 million) in Sequence A Funding in Could 2024, Sona has plans to assist 2.7 billion frontline staff worldwide within the coming years.

4. Flexa

Founders: Molly Johnson-Jones and Maurice O’Brien

It was a severe blow when founder Molly Johnson-Jones was fired from her funding banking position after requesting distant work to accommodate her autoimmune situation. What’s extra, her subsequent job search was plagued with nervousness, significantly as most firms weren’t clear about their versatile working insurance policies.

But it surely was this setback that fuelled the launch of Flexa – a jobs market platform the place jobseekers can discover jobs with firms that provide true flexibility, reminiscent of distant work or versatile hours.

Flexa’s clear strategy not solely landed the corporate a formidable £2.6 million in funding however it’s now trusted by over three million staff and over 200 employers, together with the likes of O2, Virgin Media and Mars UK.

5. Nugget Financial savings

Founders: Kate Guild and Harriet Morton-Liddle

Maternity pay and shared parental go away shouldn’t be difficult, but as a rule, anticipating dad and mom are left confused over their firm’s coverage, significantly over pay entitlements. 

That is the place Nugget Financial savings was born. Based by Kate Guild and Harriet Morton-Liddle, its platform is designed to assist dad and mom navigate the monetary aspect of parental go away with confidence. This contains its “nuggbase” characteristic, which has over 800 insurance policies obtainable, so individuals don’t need to danger asking firms about their parental go away insurance policies throughout a job interview and danger discrimination. It additionally presents in-depth planners and spreadsheets for customers to plan their funds and financial savings. 

Now, Nugget Financial savings has turn out to be the go-to useful resource for brand spanking new and anticipating dad and mom, serving to them take management of their funds throughout this new chapter.

6. UJJI AI

Founders: Ludmila Milla and Rafael Guper

Whereas many companies really feel pressured to undertake rising applied sciences, AI has turn out to be a well-liked resolution for finishing time-consuming duties shortly, permitting groups and people to concentrate on extra strategic, inventive and high-value work.

However educating and coaching staff about AI is an entire totally different ballgame. That’s the place UJJI AI enters the sector – remodeling inner enterprise sources (e.g. PDFs, Slack messages and name recordings) into easy-to-follow information, in flip creating customised coaching supplies and interactive studying experiences.

And the corporate isn’t slowing down within the AI race anytime quickly. Having been recognised by a number of prime publications, together with considered one of Sifted’s European EdTech Startups To Watch, UJJI AI is now setting its sights on further funding, with plans to lift a seed spherical this yr.

7. Volunteero

Founders: Ashley Staines and Kedar Kasarekar

Founder Ashley Staines beloved volunteering, however what he didn’t love a lot was the way it was managed by most organisations. The inefficiencies meant that many volunteers had a poor expertise, whereas charities missed out on useful time and sources.

For Staines, the reply lay in digitisation, thus resulting in the creation of Volunteero. By simplifying the method of volunteer onboarding, scheduling, communication and monitoring, Volunteero supplies an easy-to-use platform – serving to organisations handle their volunteers extra effectively and enhance the volunteer expertise.

Apart from being backed by a number of angel buyers and enterprise capital companies, Volunteroo has confirmed to make an actual distinction in volunteer administration – now trusted by 90% of volunteers and main organisations, together with Age UK, Residents Recommendation and RAF Museum.