AI startup Ringtime raises 1.8M for voice agents

"Ringtime's core product is an AI agent that handles inbound and outbound recruitment conversations end to end. It determines which communication channel a candidate prefers, which language to use, the company says its system supports 22 languages, and when to make contact. It then converses, screens, and matches, without a human recruiter on the other end."

"The pitch is pitched squarely at a segment of the labour market that existing HR software has historically ignored: workers in logistics, retail, food processing, and construction who rarely use email or LinkedIn, move frequently between employers, and have little patience for a process that doesn't respond quickly."

"A warehouse operative applies on Monday, hears nothing by Tuesday, and has accepted a job somewhere else by Wednesday. The recruiter, meanwhile, has spent the morning leaving voicemails and running through identical screening questions with a list of candidates who may or may not pick up."

Ringtime, a Ghent-based AI startup founded in September 2025, addresses recruitment inefficiencies in blue-collar sectors like logistics, retail, food processing, and construction. The company secured a €1.8 million seed round led by Volta Ventures to expand its product team and develop features for blue-collar hiring. Ringtime's AI agent automates inbound and outbound recruitment conversations, determining candidate communication preferences, language requirements, and optimal contact timing. The system handles screening and matching without human recruiter involvement. This approach targets workers who rarely use email or LinkedIn, move frequently between employers, and demand rapid response times—a market segment historically underserved by existing HR software.

Read at TNW | Startups-Technology