Plus Plus

What Plus Plus does

Plus Plus is a privately held, founder-led executive recruiting firm founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Anselmo, California. The firm helps early-stage and growth-stage founders hire scientific, research, and engineering talent to build AI-first businesses. Plus Plus is operated by Nate Boyd, an MIT-trained computer scientist, former startup founder, engineer, and product manager, who personally manages client engagements and candidate relationships.

The company's core offering is a high-touch, research-intensive retained search service targeted at three AI verticals: Foundation AI (companies training new models on domain-specific proprietary data), Bio AI (companies applying AI to biology), and Embodied AI (robotics and autonomous systems combining multimodal and reinforcement learning). The firm selectively engages clients whose mission and market align with its values, and positions itself as a long-term talent partner rather than a transactional recruiter.

Plus Plus operates a professional services revenue model, with fees generated on a retained or contingency basis per placement. The firm has no disclosed external funding, operates with 1-10 employees, and reaches clients globally through direct founder-led engagement rather than channel partners. There are no patents, proprietary technology products, or named AI/ML capabilities associated with the firm; "AI" in Plus Plus's branding refers to the type of companies it serves, not to any internal AI product.

Name

Plus Plus

Legal name

Plus Plus

Website

https://plusplustalent.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plus Plus is a founder-led retained search firm that connects AI-first startups with scientific, research, and engineering talent. Founded in 2016 and operated by Nate Boyd, it specializes in three AI verticals: Foundation AI, Bio AI, and Embodied AI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Anselmo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Executive/Professional Recruiting Services: Retained or contingency-based recruiting fees for placing scientific, research, and engineering talent at AI-first companies. High-touch service model with long-term relationship focus.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Plus Plus is a founder-led recruiting firm that helps AI-first startup founders identify and hire scientific, research, and engineering talent. The firm specializes in three verticals — Foundation AI, Bio AI, and Embodied AI — and delivers its service through a high-touch, research-intensive search model led personally by founder Nate Boyd.

Product overview

Plus Plus offers a single unified recruiting service focused on AI-first startups. The core offering is an AI-powered recruiting service designed to help founders identify and hire scientific, research, and engineering talent. The company specializes in three AI verticals: Foundation AI (companies amassing domain-specific data to train new models), Bio AI (companies building AI to understand biology), and Embodied AI (companies pushing robotics with multimodal and reinforcement learning). The service is anchored by founder Nate Boyd, who brings engineering, product management, and startup experience to provide personalized talent acquisition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plus Plus AI Recruiting A founder-led, high-touch recruiting service that helps AI-first startup founders identify and hire scientific, research, and engineering talent, with vertical specialization in Foundation AI, Bio AI, and Embodied AI. Engagements are delivered personally by founder Nate Boyd, who positions the firm as part coach, part talent agent, part strategist, and part therapist to founding teams.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• A.Team: Tech talent platform that builds and onboards product and AI engineering teams for startups and enterprises. Comparable to Plus Plus as an AI talent provider, but delivers via a distributed team model rather than retained search.

Direct peers

• Riviera Partners: Tech-focused executive search firm placing engineering, product, and AI leadership at venture-backed technology companies. Directly comparable to Plus Plus in serving high-growth AI and tech startups with retained search.
• True Search: Boutique executive search firm with a dedicated venture and AI practice placing leadership at high-growth technology companies. Overlaps with Plus Plus's retained-search model and AI-startup client base.

Broad incumbents

• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a strong technology officer practice serving AI and software companies. Comparable end-market exposure to Plus Plus, but operates at much larger scale across all industries.
• Robert Half: Large general staffing and talent solutions firm with a technology practice. Competes for some of the same engineering and AI hiring budgets as Plus Plus, but serves a much broader client base with a transactional model.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with a dedicated technology and AI practice. A broad incumbent serving similar senior AI/tech mandates but with vastly greater scale and breadth than Plus Plus.
• Insight Global: Large staffing and talent solutions provider with dedicated technology and AI recruiting capabilities. Adjacent competitor to Plus Plus for engineering and AI hiring, though typically focused on volume hiring rather than boutique retained search.
• Built In: Tech recruitment marketplace and employer branding platform serving startups and tech employers hiring engineers and AI talent. Adjacent to Plus Plus's mission of connecting AI-first companies with technical talent.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with technology and digital practices. Competes with Plus Plus for senior AI mandates, especially at board and C-suite level, as part of a broader portfolio.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a significant executive search practice, including technology officers. Overlaps with Plus Plus on senior AI mandates but offers broader talent and consulting services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plusplustalent
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plus-plus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Plus Plus