Cross Border Talents

What Cross Border Talents does

Cross Border Talents is a privately held specialist recruitment consultancy founded in 2013 and headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, with additional offices in Évora, London, Berlin, São Paulo, and Palma. The firm delivers permanent placement and talent-leasing solutions across four primary verticals — Engineering, ICT, AI and Digital, and Multilingual Customer Support — serving enterprise clients in EMEA, APAC, and the Americas. It claims operational reach in 102+ countries and a 3,000+ candidate quarterly placement volume.

The core product is the "CBT Recruitment Engine," described as an AI-enhanced, human-validated global recruitment platform, supported by a searchable CBT Talent Pool segmented by department, the CBT IT Academy (a coding training programme aligned with the European Commission's Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition), the CB Talks podcast series, and a recurring tech events programme. Distribution is a hybrid of direct enterprise sales, a self-serve talent pool platform, and a network of 300+ freelance recruiters and 1,000+ partners across 50+ countries operating under the Cross Border Talent Group brand.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees on permanent placements and managed-services fees on talent-leasing engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company has received 3 Seals of Excellence from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, is a named Horizon 2020 SME Champion, and operates under GDPR-compliant data practices with EU-based data storage. It is managed by Ricardo Nobre (Managing Director) and has disclosed no institutional venture capital backing; its only known external capital is a ~$76K EISMEA grant in 2015.

Name

Cross Border Talents

Legal name

Cross Border Talents

Website

https://cbtalents.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cross Border Talents is a Lisbon-headquartered specialist recruitment consultancy founded in 2013 that delivers permanent placement and talent-leasing across Engineering, ICT, AI, and Multilingual sectors via a global network spanning 102+ countries and six physical offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialist Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Contractor Engagement & Cross-Border Payments (BPACAGAI)

Keywords

• International recruitment services
• Multilingual talent sourcing
• Engineering recruitment solutions
• ICT talent placement
• Talent-leasing solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Oeiras

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Permanent Recruitment Services: Full-cycle recruitment services matching exceptional candidates with permanent positions in engineering, ICT, AI, and multilingual roles across global companies
2. Talent-Leasing Solutions: Flexible talent deployment solutions allowing companies to engage qualified professionals for project-based or ongoing needs

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cross Border Talents is a specialist recruitment consultancy providing permanent recruitment and talent-leasing solutions for the Engineering, ICT, AI, and Multilingual sectors across 102+ countries. The company connects clients with qualified candidates via its CBT Recruitment Engine, combining AI-enhanced matching with human validators and a global network of 300+ recruiters and 1,000+ partners, delivering 3,000+ candidate connections per quarter to enterprise clients.

Product overview

Cross Border Talents is a global specialist recruitment agency operating as a single integrated platform. The core offering is the CBT Recruitment Engine — an AI-enhanced platform powered by human recruiters and enabled by technology. The ecosystem includes the CBT Talent Pool (searchable candidate database), CBT IT Academy (coding training program), CB Talks Podcasts (industry content), and CBT Events (networking events). The company specializes in permanent recruitment and talent-leasing solutions for Engineering, ICT, AI, and Multilingual sectors across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CBT IT Academy: IT skills training academy teaching Java, PHP, Web Developer, and digital languages. Part of European Commission's Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.
• CBT Talks
• Cross Border Talent Group

Products and services

• CBT Recruitment Engine An AI-enhanced, human-validated global recruitment platform that connects qualified candidates with opportunities across 102+ countries, covering Engineering, ICT, AI, and Multilingual roles for enterprise clients.
• CBT Talent Pool A searchable database of pre-qualified candidates across Engineering, ICT, and Multilingual sectors that allows employers to filter and access exclusive multilingual tech profiles for international recruitment needs.
• Permanent Recruitment Solutions Full-cycle recruitment services matching exceptional candidates with permanent positions in Engineering, ICT, AI, and Multilingual roles at global companies.
• Talent-Leasing Solutions Flexible talent deployment solutions that enable companies to engage qualified professionals for project-based or ongoing needs, complementing permanent placements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Connect over 3,000 candidates every quarter with clients across all continents
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross Border Talents is the only recruitment agency awarded by the European Commission with 3 seals of excellence (SME Instrument). The company is part of Horizon 2020 SME Champion network and member of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, contributing to solving skills shortages across Europe.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hays: Global specialist recruitment firm placing professionals across technology, engineering, and multilingual roles in 33+ countries. Closely comparable to CBT in vertical specialisation (engineering, ICT) and permanent placement model.
• Robert Half: Global staffing and recruitment firm specialising in professional, technology, and engineering placements. Comparable to CBT in targeting permanent and contract roles in ICT and engineering verticals across multiple geographies.
• Michael Page: Worldwide recruitment consultancy with deep exposure to engineering, technology, and multilingual customer service roles. Comparable to CBT in offering permanent placement and cross-border talent sourcing for mid-to-senior professionals.
• Toptal: Global freelance talent marketplace focused on software engineers, designers, and finance experts. Comparable to CBT in operating a remote-first, cross-border talent matching model for ICT and engineering roles.
• Crossover: Remote talent platform recruiting and managing full-time software engineers and tech professionals globally. Comparable to CBT in cross-border tech recruitment, managed-talent engagement, and AI/engineering vertical focus.
• Adevinta Work / Multilingual Jobs Worldwide: European recruitment firm focused on multilingual customer service, content moderation, and CX roles across multiple languages. Closely comparable to CBT's multilingual segment and pan-European footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Randstad: One of the world's largest staffing and HR services groups, with operations spanning permanent, temporary, and multilingual CX staffing globally. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering overlapping capability in engineering, ICT, and multilingual customer support.
• ManpowerGroup: Global workforce solutions company offering recruitment, staffing, and talent-leasing across technology, engineering, and customer service verticals. Comparable as a broad incumbent with multilingual and cross-border delivery capabilities.

Regional players

• Talent International: Australia-headquartered specialist tech and engineering recruiter with global delivery capability. Comparable to CBT's ICT/engineering vertical focus and cross-border placement model, though with stronger APAC than EMEA gravity.

Emerging players

• Honeypot: European tech-talent marketplace matching engineers and product talent with companies across DACH and wider EMEA. Comparable to CBT in Europe-centred tech recruitment and emphasis on pre-vetted candidate pools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cbtalents
• Xx.com/CBTalents

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cross Border Talents