The Cluen Corporation

What The Cluen Corporation does

Cluen Corporation is a privately held US software company, founded in 1994 by Andrew Shapiro and Jonathan Haber, that develops and sells the Encore executive search CRM platform. The company is headquartered in New York with support operations in London and Sydney, serving executive search firms, in-house corporate talent teams, and legal recruiters across six continents. Cluen's customer base is described as "thousands of recruiters worldwide," and the company is recognized as a long-standing standard-setter in executive search technology with over 30 years of domain specialization.

The Encore platform is a cloud-based, browser-independent system that centralizes candidate, client, and deal data while automating workflows, surfacing relationship intelligence, and supporting GDPR/CCPA compliance. Core proprietary technology includes Searchlight® web portals (a 20-year-old technology now in its fifth generation), RESUME FIREWALL® for filtering candidate submissions, DoubleTime™ for global performance optimization, and a recently integrated Noon.ai autonomous sourcing agent. AI capabilities span candidate engagement scoring, relationship mapping, predictive outreach analytics, and compliance automation, with the platform exposed via MCP (Model Context Protocol) and integrated with Outlook, Gmail, MailChimp, and HubSpot. The company has expanded from executive search firms into dedicated In-House Search Teams and Legal Recruiting verticals, plus a PE/VC customer segment.

Revenue is generated through annual subscription licensing of the Encore platform (with custom quote-based pricing for enterprise and mid-market customers) supplemented by professional services for implementation and training. Go-to-market is sales-led, enterprise field sales with personalized demo-driven conversion. The company maintains a global support infrastructure and produces annual industry reports as content marketing. Cluen has not raised external funding, operates as an independent founder-controlled corporation, and discloses no revenue figures.

Name

The Cluen Corporation

Legal name

The Cluen Corporation

Website

https://cluen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cluen Corporation develops the Encore AI-powered executive search CRM platform, serving executive search firms, in-house corporate talent teams, and legal recruiters globally. The platform provides candidate management, workflow automation, relationship intelligence, and compliance features, distributed via enterprise direct sales with annual subscription pricing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search CRM Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)

Keywords

• Executive search software
• Recruitment CRM platform
• Talent acquisition software
• Candidate relationship management
• Search workflow automation

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Subscription (Encore Platform): Core revenue stream from subscription-based access to the Encore executive search CRM platform, likely with per-seat or tiered licensing for executive search firms, in-house teams, and legal recruiters.
2. Professional Services: Consulting and support services with decades of combined experience within the executive search space, including implementation and training services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cluen develops and sells Encore, an AI-powered, cloud-based executive search CRM platform that centralizes candidate, client, and deal data; automates workflows; provides relationship intelligence; and supports GDPR-compliant operations for executive search firms, in-house corporate talent teams, and legal recruiters. The platform is delivered as a subscription SaaS, complemented by implementation, training, and ongoing support services.

Product overview

Cluen offers a single unified platform called Encore (also marketed as Encore Max), which is an AI-powered executive search CRM. The platform is available in three industry-specific editions targeting Executive Search Firms, In-House Search Teams, and Legal Recruiting. Encore's core capabilities include candidate relationship management, workflow automation, AI-powered insights, and GDPR compliance. Key proprietary add-on modules include Searchlight® web portals (with Survey and 360 Client Portal sub-features), RESUME FIREWALL® for automated resume processing, and the Noon.ai autonomous sourcing integration. The platform also incorporates DoubleTime™ for performance optimization. All modules operate within the Encore ecosystem and share a unified database and workflow engine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Encore: AI-powered executive search CRM platform that helps search teams manage workflows, candidate relationships, client reporting, and business development. Includes features for workflow automation, relationship intelligence, candidate engagement, and compliance.
• Searchlight
• RESUME FIREWALL
• Encore Max
• DoubleTime

Products and services

• Encore AI-powered, cloud-based executive search CRM platform that centralizes candidate, client, and deal data; provides candidate engagement scoring, relationship intelligence, workflow automation, client reporting, and GDPR compliance features. Delivered in three industry-specific configurations for Executive Search Firms, In-House Search Teams, and Legal Recruiting Teams, and offered in standard and Max editions (Encore Max) that include the Searchlight® web portals and RESUME FIREWALL® proprietary technologies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced admin time through workflow automation and AI-powered insights
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability10 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Noon.aicoreTechnology or IntegrationCluen's partnership with Noon.ai integrates intelligent autonomous sourcing automation directly into the Encore platform. Noon watches how recruiters work, learns their sourcing patterns, and scales that expertise to proactively populate Encore pipelines with qualified candidates. The integration transforms the CRM from reactive to proactive, automates initial outreach at scale, and creates a continuous feedback loop that improves sourcing quality over time. Noon processes thousands of profiles, sends personalized outreach, and manages response workflows without requiring additional recruiter bandwidth.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Eightfold AI: Eightfold AI is a talent intelligence platform using deep learning for skills matching, candidate engagement, and internal mobility. It overlaps with Cluen's AI-powered candidate insights and is a well-funded emerging competitor in AI-driven recruiting.

Direct peers

• TrackerRMS: TrackerRMS is a recruitment CRM/ATS built specifically for executive search and direct hire firms, with pipeline management and reporting features. It is a close comparable to Cluen's Encore, serving the same boutique-to-global retained search market.
• Loxo: Loxo is an AI-powered recruiting and executive search platform combining a CRM with autonomous sourcing agents. It directly competes with Cluen's Encore in the executive search and talent acquisition vertical, with similar AI-driven candidate sourcing and engagement features.
• Crelate Talent: Crelate is a recruiting CRM and ATS built for search firms and corporate talent teams, with features for pipeline management, relationship tracking, and workflow automation. It targets the same boutique-to-mid-market executive and professional search firms that Cluen serves with Encore.

Broad incumbents

• Bullhorn: Bullhorn is the largest recruitment CRM/ATS provider for staffing and search firms globally, with deep workflow automation and a large integration marketplace. It overlaps with Encore in serving executive search firms but serves a much broader staffing market at larger scale.
• Lever: Lever combines ATS and CRM functionality for corporate talent teams, with relationship intelligence and analytics features that overlap with Encore's candidate engagement and relationship mapping capabilities.
• Greenhouse: Greenhouse is a leading ATS and hiring platform used primarily by corporate talent acquisition teams. It is comparable to Cluen's in-house search vertical, with structured hiring, integrations, and reporting capabilities.
• iCIMS: iCIMS is an enterprise talent acquisition platform offering ATS, CRM, and candidate engagement capabilities to large employers. It competes with Cluen's in-house search edition and increasingly encroaches on the executive search workflow space.
• SmartRecruiters: SmartRecruiters is an enterprise talent acquisition suite offering ATS, CRM, and AI-powered candidate matching. It is comparable to Cluen's in-house and enterprise search use cases, though it serves a broader corporate market.

Regional players

• JobAdder: JobAdder is a recruitment CRM and ATS popular in Australia and the UK, serving search firms and staffing agencies. It is comparable to Encore in workflow and CRM functionality but operates primarily outside the US market where Cluen is headquartered.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cluenencore
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-cluen-corporation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Cluen Corporation