Applied
Applied (Be Applied Ltd) is an AI-powered, skills-based recruitment platform that helps enterprises and mid-market organizations reduce hiring bias through validated cognitive assessments, anonymized CV screening, and AI-assisted shortlisting. It was acquired by Phenom in February 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Applied does
Applied (Be Applied Ltd) is an AI-powered, skills-based recruitment software platform that helps organizations hire without unconscious bias. Founded in 2016 as the first and only spin-out from the UK's Behavioural Insights Team (Nudge Unit), the company was co-founded by Kate Glazebrook, Theo Fellgett, and Rich Marr as a social-mobility project aimed at making recruitment more predictive and fair. The platform unifies the end-to-end hiring workflow through a suite of modules: Applied SIFT (validated cognitive assessment and shortlisting), AI Screener (AI-assisted candidate evaluation using Anthropic Claude on AWS Bedrock), Mapped/NST (numerical and analytical testing), JDAT (job description bias analysis), CV Redaction (anonymized resume screening), AI Text Detection (Pangram-powered integrity flagging), and Recruitment Analytics & Reporting.
Underlying the product is a combination of proprietary behavioral-science methodology — with cognitive assessments tested across millions of candidates — and third-party AI models (Anthropic Claude for CV parsing and response scoring, OpenAI ChatGPT for question and rubric generation, Pangram for AI-text detection). Applied operates on an annual subscription SaaS model with quote-based pricing, demo-led sales motion, and a freemium trial layer for select features. Customers are mid-market and enterprise organizations in publishing (HarperCollins, Penguin Random House), nonprofit (Comic Relief, Wellcome Trust, SSAFA), sports (England & Wales Cricket Board), venture capital (Blackbird Ventures), and government (Citizens Advice Wirral).
In February 2026, Applied was acquired by Phenom, a Philadelphia-headquartered applied AI company for HR, integrating Applied's evidence-based assessments into Phenom's broader talent experience platform to deliver skills-first hiring at enterprise scale. The company holds B Corp, Cyber Essentials Plus, and GDPR / EU AI Act-compliant status. As of the acquisition, Applied operates as a brand within Phenom's portfolio with no independent funding activity after its March 2020 round.
Applied firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Applied
- Legal name
- Be Applied Ltd
- Website
- https://beapplied.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Applied (Be Applied Ltd) is an AI-powered, skills-based recruitment platform that helps enterprises and mid-market organizations reduce hiring bias through validated cognitive assessments, anonymized CV screening, and AI-assisted shortlisting. It was acquired by Phenom in February 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Applied industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment Software
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Skills Assessment & Talent/Employability Testing Platforms (EDAFADAM), Assessment Analytics & Item/Question Intelligence (IRT, Item Banks, Diagnostic Insights) (EDAFAFAG)
Keywords
Where Applied is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Applied business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: Applied operates on a subscription basis with billing in advance on recurring periodic basis (Subscription Period). Customers pay charges specified in Order within 14 days or per selected billing method. Subscription renews automatically for 12-month periods unless notice is given.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Subscription-based recruitment platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Applied product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Applied (Be Applied Ltd) is an AI-powered, skills-based recruitment software platform that helps organisations hire without unconscious bias. The platform delivers evidence-based cognitive assessments, AI-assisted candidate screening, anonymised CV review, and job description bias analysis to evaluate candidates on demonstrated capabilities rather than credentials. Following its February 2026 acquisition by Phenom, the technology is being integrated into Phenom's broader talent experience platform.
Product overview
Applied (Be Applied Ltd) is an AI-powered, skills-based recruitment software platform that helps organisations hire without unconscious bias. The platform is a unified, end-to-end talent management system comprising a core suite of modules including Applied SIFT (skills-based cognitive assessment and shortlisting), AI Screener (AI-assisted screening), Mapped/NST (numerical skills testing), JDAT (job description bias analysis), CV Redaction (anonymised CV screening), and Recruitment Analytics & Reporting. Additional AI features include an AI Text Detection tool that flags AI-generated candidate responses, and a CV parsing function that transforms unstructured resumes into structured data for anonymous review. The platform integrates behavioural economics principles to deliver evidence-based hiring, evaluating candidates on demonstrated capabilities rather than credentials or CVs. Applied was acquired by Phenom in February 2026, and its technology is being integrated into Phenom's broader talent experience platform to power skills-first hiring at enterprise scale.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Applied SIFT Skills-based hiring feature using Applied's proven predictor of candidate performance based on adaptive cognitive assessments validated across millions of candidates. Targets hiring organisations seeking to assess candidates on actual capabilities rather than credentials or CVs.
- AI Screener AI-powered shortlisting feature that helps hiring teams efficiently and accurately evaluate candidate responses while maintaining fairness and reducing unconscious bias in the screening process. Uses Anthropic Claude via AWS Bedrock for CV parsing and response analysis.
- Mapped/NST Numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills assessment tool with preset tests that measure candidates' cognitive abilities for specific roles.
- JDAT (Job Description Analysis Tool) Job description analysis tool that decodes and restructures job postings to remove biased or exclusive language, ensuring they are inclusive and unbiased before posting.
- CV Redaction CV anonymisation and screening feature that redacts personal identifying information from resumes, enabling fair and unbiased shortlisting based purely on skills and experience.
- Recruitment Analytics & Reporting Reporting and analytics dashboard providing real-time recruitment metrics and data insights, replacing spreadsheets with comprehensive, data-driven hiring reports across the talent lifecycle.
- AI Text Detection Tool AI-powered detection feature that analyses candidate written responses to flag those highly likely to have been generated using AI (e.g., ChatGPT), helping hiring teams maintain assessment integrity. Uses Pangram Labs model flagging responses with predicted AI likelihood of 0.95 or above.
Quantifiable outcome
- 60% chance of missing best candidates with traditional CV-based methods, mostly from under-represented backgrounds
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Applied
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Applied technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Applied partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PhenomflagshipPhenom acquired Applied in February 2026, integrating Applied's adaptive cognitive assessment technology into Phenom's AI-powered hiring automation platform. The acquisition enables enterprise-scale skills-first hiring by embedding skills validation directly into hiring workflows, eliminating separate assessment platforms and manual handoffs.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Applied competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TestGorilla: TestGorilla is a pre-employment skills-assessment platform offering a library of tests (cognitive, personality, skills) for HR teams. It is a direct peer to Applied's SIFT and Mapped/NST modules, targeting the same skills-based screening use case for mid-market and enterprise hiring teams.
- Pymetrics: Pymetrics builds neuroscience-based behavioral assessments for hiring and talent management. It overlaps directly with Applied's cognitive and behavioral-science assessment approach, serving enterprise HR teams seeking bias-mitigated, predictive candidate evaluation.
- HireVue: HireVue provides AI-driven video interviewing, assessments, and hiring workflows for enterprise. It competes with Applied in AI-assisted candidate evaluation and structured hiring, particularly for high-volume enterprise screening use cases.
- Filtered: Filtered is a skills-based assessment and interviewing platform focused on reducing bias and predicting job performance. It mirrors Applied's combination of cognitive assessments, structured interviews, and skills-first screening.
- Codility: Codility offers skills-based technical assessments and coding tests for engineering hiring. While more technical-role focused, it competes with Applied's Mapped/NST module and broader skills-assessment positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Eightfold AI: Eightfold AI is a talent intelligence platform using AI for recruiting, retention, and workforce planning. It is a broader incumbent in AI hiring that overlaps with Applied's skills-matching capabilities, but at a much larger enterprise scale and scope.
- Phenom: Phenom is an applied-AI talent experience platform that acquired Applied in February 2026. As Applied's parent, it is the natural broad-incumbent comparison: Phenom provides the enterprise hiring-automation surface into which Applied's assessments are now embedded.
- Workday: Workday is a leading HCM and talent acquisition suite with embedded AI-driven hiring capabilities. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same enterprise HR-tech budget as Applied-Phenom, though Workday's offerings span the full HR stack rather than specializing in skills assessment.
- iCIMS: iCIMS is an enterprise talent acquisition platform with AI-driven candidate matching and assessment integrations. It overlaps with Applied's ATS-adjacent screening use cases as a broader incumbent in enterprise recruiting software.
- Greenhouse: Greenhouse is a structured hiring platform and ATS used by mid-market and enterprise teams. It is comparable as a horizontal hiring platform where Applied's skills-assessment and bias-mitigation features can be layered in alongside core ATS workflows.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Applied social profiles
Digital presenceApplied compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Applied financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Applied leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Applied funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Applied 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 Applied
What does Applied do?
Applied (Be Applied Ltd) is an AI-powered, skills-based recruitment software platform that helps organisations hire without unconscious bias. The platform delivers evidence-based cognitive assessments, AI-assisted candidate screening, anonymised CV review, and job description bias analysis to evaluate candidates on demonstrated capabilities rather than credentials. Following its February 2026 acquisition by Phenom, the technology is being integrated into Phenom's broader talent experience platform.
Is Applied a public or private company?
Applied is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Applied founded?
Applied was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Applied based?
Applied is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Applied make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription SaaS.
Who are Applied's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TestGorilla, Pymetrics, HireVue, Filtered and Codility. Broad incumbents are Eightfold AI, Phenom, Workday, iCIMS and Greenhouse.
Does Applied have an API?
Yes. Applied's AI system supports API-based access for flexible integrations. Authentication uses API key usage and IP whitelisting. AI solutions using OpenAI store API keys encrypted in AWS Parameter Store and injected during CI/CD deploy steps. AI solutions using Amazon Bedrock handle authorization via IAM policies. An API key generation process exists and is referenced in the AI Acceptable Use Policy and Terms of Use.
What industry is Applied in?
Applied's product category is Recruitment Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAPAD, Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS), with a secondary code of EDAFADAM, Skills Assessment & Talent/Employability Testing Platforms. Its NAICS code is 561311 and its SIC code is 7372.