Lever
Lever is a San Francisco-based talent acquisition platform combining ATS and CRM functionality with AI-powered screening, interviewing, and sourcing modules. It serves mid-market and enterprise organizations across 20+ industries as a subsidiary of Employ Inc. (NASDAQ: EPM).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Lever does
Lever is a San Francisco-based talent acquisition platform that combines an applicant tracking system (ATS) with native candidate relationship management (CRM) in a single unified product, targeting mid-market and enterprise organizations. Founded in 2012, the platform manages the full hiring lifecycle — sourcing, application tracking, interview coordination, automated nurture campaigns, offer generation, and reporting — and integrates with HRIS, assessments, background checks, job boards, and productivity tools via an Integration API and webhooks. The core product is augmented by AI Companion add-on modules (AI Screening Companion, AI Interview Companion, AI Sourcing Companion), an Automation Hub, Visual Insights analytics with 60+ pre-built reports, and a Talent Fit matching engine, supported by fraud-detection safeguards across screening. The company is a privately held subsidiary of Employ Inc. (NASDAQ: EPM), a public holding company whose portfolio also includes JazzHR, Jobvite, and NXTThing RPO; Lever operates as a distinct product brand with its own engineering, sales, and customer success functions under the parent umbrella. Lever sells through a direct enterprise field-sales motion combined with inside sales for mid-market, using a demo-driven, custom-priced annual subscription model with contract values negotiated via Order Forms. Customer footprint spans 26,000+ hiring teams across 20+ industries, including named logos such as Netflix, KPMG, Eventbrite, Talend, NextGen Federal Systems, Enablecomp, and Bisnow; the platform reports 99.98% uptime over a rolling 90-day window. The company has raised approximately $122.8M cumulatively, with the most recent material round being a $50M Series D led by Apax Digital Fund in November 2021, with proceeds directed toward international expansion, R&D, and growth of the technology partnership ecosystem. Compliance posture includes GDPR and CCPA/CPRA data processing addenda and SOC 1/SOC 2 Type 2 reports available on request.
Lever firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lever
- Legal name
- Lever, Inc.
- Website
- https://lever.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Lever is a San Francisco-based talent acquisition platform combining ATS and CRM functionality with AI-powered screening, interviewing, and sourcing modules. It serves mid-market and enterprise organizations across 20+ industries as a subsidiary of Employ Inc. (NASDAQ: EPM).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lever industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Talent Acquisition Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- RPO Technology, ATS Administration & Recruitment Operations (BPACABAN)
Keywords
Where Lever is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lever business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: Lever operates as a cloud-based SaaS platform with subscription pricing based on company size, hiring volume, feature needs, and implementation requirements. Pricing is customized per customer through Order Forms with annual billing cycles.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom enterprise pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Lever product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lever provides a unified talent acquisition platform that combines an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with a Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) system, augmented by AI-powered companion modules for candidate screening, interview intelligence, and sourcing. The platform centralizes pipeline management, applicant tracking, analytics, and workflow automation for in-house recruiting teams.
Product overview
Lever is a talent acquisition platform that combines applicant tracking system (ATS) and candidate relationship management (CRM) capabilities in one unified platform. The core Lever ATS+CRM product serves as the primary offering, with AI companions (Screening, Interview, and Sourcing) available as add-on modules under the parent company Employ Inc. Additional products in the Employ family include JazzHR for SMB hiring, Jobvite for enterprise hiring, and NXTThing RPO for recruitment process outsourcing. The platform includes built-in analytics (Visual Insights), workflow automation (Automation Hub), and AI-powered candidate matching (Talent Fit).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lever Talent Acquisition Platform (ATS + CRM) Unified ATS and CRM platform for in-house recruiting teams that manages the full hiring lifecycle from sourcing and pipeline nurturing through offer and hire on a single system. Built for mid-market and enterprise talent acquisition organizations.
- Lever AI Screening Companion AI-powered companion that automates and augments candidate screening within the Lever platform, evaluating applicants against role criteria to surface qualified candidates faster. Intended for talent acquisition teams handling high application volumes.
- Lever AI Interview Companion AI-powered companion that supports structured interviews by providing interview guidance, generating questions, and capturing interview intelligence. Used by hiring teams and interviewers conducting Lever-based interviews.
- Lever AI Sourcing Companion AI-powered companion that assists recruiters with candidate sourcing, profile discovery, and pipeline engagement to build talent pools. Built for in-house talent acquisition teams seeking to expand passive candidate reach.
- Lever Visual Insights Analytics module that provides visual dashboards and reports on hiring funnel metrics, pipeline health, source effectiveness, and time-to-fill. Used by talent acquisition leaders and hiring managers for data-driven hiring decisions.
- Lever Automation Hub Automation module that enables talent acquisition teams to configure and run workflow automations across the hiring process, including candidate communications, task handoffs, and approval flows. Used by recruiting operations and TA leaders.
- Lever Talent Fit Candidate matching capability that scores and ranks candidates against defined role criteria to help recruiters prioritize applicants. Used by talent acquisition teams to drive more consistent, qualification-based hiring decisions.
Quantifiable outcome
- AI-powered interviews can reduce recruiter workload by 70% according to LizzyAI integration claims
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Lever
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments9 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lever technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration18 records
AI capability10 records
Feature7 records
Lever partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Employ Inc. (Parent Company)coreLever is part of Employ Inc., a parent company that also owns JazzHR, Jobvite, and NXTThing RPO. Together they serve thousands of customers and millions of candidates worldwide with purpose-built, intelligent hiring technology.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lever competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Greenhouse Software: Closest direct competitor offering ATS and recruiting CRM for mid-market and enterprise; same target buyer personas, similar feature breadth, and frequently compared head-to-head against Lever in G2 and procurement evaluations.
- Ashby: AI-native modern ATS/CRM targeting fast-growing tech companies and mid-market; direct head-to-head competitor for new logo wins, particularly among tech and venture-backed customers seeking modern UX and analytics.
- SmartRecruiters: Enterprise ATS with CRM and talent marketplace functionality serving global enterprises; overlapping customer base with Lever and similar mid-market to enterprise GTM motion.
- Jobvite: Sister brand under Lever's parent (Employ Inc.); enterprise-focused ATS that competes for similar deals, and its overlap with Lever represents internal portfolio cannibalization dynamics inside Employ.
- JazzHR: Sister brand under Employ Inc. targeting SMB hiring; direct competitor for entry-level and SMB customers that Lever also services, illustrating intra-portfolio competitive dynamics.
Broad incumbents
- iCIMS: Established enterprise talent acquisition platform with broader scope across ATS, CRM, onboarding, and candidate marketing; competes for the same large-enterprise deals though typically positioned more as a legacy incumbent.
- Workday Recruiting: Talent module of the Workday HCM suite; competes for enterprise deals where HRIS consolidation favors Workday bundling, particularly with large enterprises standardizing on a single HR platform.
Emerging players
- Eightfold AI: AI-native talent intelligence platform spanning sourcing, matching, and workforce planning; competes for enterprise AI-driven hiring budgets and overlaps with Lever on AI screening, interview, and fit-matching capabilities.
- Beamery: Talent CRM and candidate relationship platform focused on enterprise talent pipeline management; overlaps with Lever's CRM capabilities and AI-driven nurture/engagement use cases.
- Phenom People: AI-driven talent experience platform with career site, CRM, and ATS modules; competes for the same enterprise HR transformation deals and frequently bundled against Lever in large RFPs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lever social profiles
Digital presenceLever compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Lever financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lever leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Lever funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors23 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lever M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lever
What does Lever do?
Lever provides a unified talent acquisition platform that combines an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with a Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) system, augmented by AI-powered companion modules for candidate screening, interview intelligence, and sourcing. The platform centralizes pipeline management, applicant tracking, analytics, and workflow automation for in-house recruiting teams.
Is Lever a public or private company?
Lever is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Lever founded?
Lever was founded in 2012. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Lever based?
Lever is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lever make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription SaaS.
Who are Lever's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Greenhouse Software, Ashby, SmartRecruiters, Jobvite and JazzHR. Broad incumbents are iCIMS and Workday Recruiting. Emerging players are Eightfold AI, Beamery and Phenom People.
Does Lever have an API?
Yes. Lever provides an Integration API and Webhooks for system connectivity. The status page lists 'Integration API & Webhooks' as an operational component, and the Terms of Service references 'application programming interfaces (APIs)' for third-party integrations. A Developer Sandbox with separate terms of use exists for testing. API key generation issues have been tracked for the EU data center, indicating ongoing API availability.
What industry is Lever in?
Lever's product category is Talent Acquisition Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAPAD, Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS), with a secondary code of BPACABAN, RPO Technology, ATS Administration & Recruitment Operations. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7372.