Ethos Secures $22.75M from a16z for Expert Network Featuring Voice Onboarding

When companies seek advice on projects, they often turn to LinkedIn or expert networks like GLG, Third Bridge, or AlphaSights but struggle to find quality insights. These platforms typically match experts with companies based on job titles, asking experts to fill out forms to facilitate this process. Ethos, a London-based company, believes AI can enhance this experience. For experts, it uses voice-powered onboarding to gather more detailed information beyond job titles. For companies, Ethos uses this data to improve matches to natural language queries from organizations. Ethos’s method allows it to address complex queries, such as finding experts at funded startups to solve finance automation or identifying doctors with specific expertise and research experience for pharma companies. Ethos recently announced a $22.75 million Series A funding led by a16z, with participation from General Catalyst, XTX Markets, Evantic Capital, and Common Magic. Anish Acharya of a16z highlighted Ethos’s use of voice to capture nuanced expert knowledge as a significant advantage over traditional platforms. Founded by James Lo and Daniel Mankowitz in 2024, Ethos originated from Lo’s interest in providing economic opportunities and Mankowitz’s view of the economy as a knowledge graph. Ethos collects data from public sources like blogs and academic papers, alongside social links, to connect companies with the right expertise. The platform also conducts interviews with voice agents to extract valuable insights, competing with firms like Listen Labs and Outset that offer conversational AI for interviews. Ethos serves hedge funds, private equity firms, AI labs, and enterprise consulting clients, charging a project-based fee. While specific client names remain undisclosed, the company is on track for “an eight-figure annualized revenue.” Ethos claims that around 35,000 experts join weekly, assisted by invites, with AI labs contributing to the growth of its expert user base. The company sees AI labs globally mapping economically valuable occupations as a tailwind for its expansion. Ethos’s team consists of eight members, aiming to remain compact as it scales.