Even aft reviewing resumes, screen letters, and interviews, choosing the close campaigner for a occupation tin beryllium a mysterious process. Hiring managers often trust connected their biases astir the satellite oregon gut feelings to pass their decision, making the process acold from an nonstop science.
That’s wherefore Sarah Lucena built Mappa, an AI-powered behavioral quality level that aims to instrumentality immoderate of the guesswork retired of hiring. Mappa trained an AI exemplary to observe dependable patterns that correlate with definite traits, specified arsenic connection style, empathy, and confidence. Applicants simply reply immoderate questions from Mappa’s AI agent, and past the level sends hiring managers a shortlist of candidates with traits that are compatible with the role.
Mappa is simply a Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalist astatine TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 successful San Francisco.
“Mappa comes to the marketplace with the extremity of really, genuinely knowing people,” Lucena said successful an interrogation with TechCrunch. “We don’t truly categorize traits arsenic bully oregon bad. We recognize traits arsenic compatible oregon not.”
Lucena founded Mappa successful 2023 with her 2 co-founders, Pablo Bergolo and Daniel Moretti, and has raised $3.4 cardinal successful a effect circular led by Tim Draper’s concern firm, Draper Associates. In little than 3 years, the startup has scaled to much than 130 customers successful the U.S. and much than $4 cardinal successful annualized recurring revenue.
Mappa claims 1 of its biggest advantages is data. The startup built highly curated datasets specifically for knowing quality behavior. Mappa primitively attempted to measure candidates based connected video submissions and their online presence, however, they’ve recovered dependable investigation to beryllium the astir effectual method.
Mappa’s level has already helped companies find employees that instrumentality astir for longer, according to Lucena. While the modular yearly turnover complaint for companies is astir 30%, she says employees hired done Mappa person a turnover complaint of conscionable 2%.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025
Lucena says Mappa’s absorption is ever helping companies find the champion people, but that often results successful a much equitable hiring process. Mappa has facilitated implicit 3,000 hires to date, and much than 60% of them were women, LGBTQ+, oregon immigrants. Lucena, who was calved and raised successful Brazil, says she’s arrogant to person created much opportunities for these people.
Moving forward, Lucena says she sees Mappa evolving from a services institution into an infrastructure provider. The startup’s API has seen traction among companies who privation to usage its behavioral investigation successful situations beyond hiring. Tim Draper personally uses Mappa to measure founders his steadfast is considering investing in, and the acquisition level Re-Skilling.ai uses the level to recognize skills that students tin amended on.
In the future, Lucena sees that Mappa could beryllium utilized to assistance o.k. candidates for loans who don’t person an extended recognition history. She sees Mappa arsenic a instrumentality to assistance measure radical much reasonably successful each kinds of settings.
If you privation to perceive from Mappa firsthand, and spot dozens of further pitches, be invaluable workshops, and marque the connections that thrust concern results, head present to larn much astir this year’s Disrupt, held October 27 to 29 successful San Francisco.
















English (US) ·