iCIMS Acquires Apli, Boosting AI Recruitment for Frontline Workers

Apli, a fast-growing AI-powered recruitment automation company focused on frontline hiring, has been acquired by iCIMS, the talent acquisition software provider trusted by leading global brands. The move expands iCIMS’ enterprise AI platform and enhances its ability to support high-volume hiring at scale.

Addressing the Frontline Hiring Challenge

Frontline workers represent around 80% of the global workforce, yet many of these roles remain unfilled. Hiring managers face increasing pressure to recruit quickly and efficiently. Apli’s conversational AI technology helps organizations attract, assess and hire frontline talent through mobile-friendly channels such as WhatsApp, SMS and web chat.

This approach enables companies to shorten time-to-hire, improve candidate experience and increase recruiter productivity. According to Apli, its solution automates up to 90% of the frontline hiring process, supports 10x more hires per recruiter, reduces time-to-fill by up to 75%, and drives 40% lower turnover on average.

Recognized Innovation from Latin America

Serving multinational enterprises with workforces of over 10,000 employees, Apli has earned international recognition. It was named one of Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Latin America and highlighted as a Future of Work leader by MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy.

Customer data shows that Apli generates up to five times more qualified candidates for hourly roles compared to traditional application flows, while improving retention through better candidate matching and assessments.

Building iCIMS Frontline AI

The integration of Apli’s technology into iCIMS will create a new solution: iCIMS Frontline AI. This offering, grounded in iCIMS’ certified responsible AI framework, will complement the company’s existing AI capabilities and its iCIMS Agents, delivering:

• Faster and more conversational application experiences
• Smarter candidate fit assessments within chat-based flows
• Increased application completion rates
• Better-fit hires with lower turnover

“This acquisition accelerates our vision to harness the power of AI across the full spectrum of recruiting and hiring,” said Jason Edelboim, CEO of iCIMS. “Combining Apli’s AI-powered technology with iCIMS’ enterprise AI platform will drive more elevated and seamless experiences for recruiters, candidates and hiring managers.”

Expanding Capabilities for Global Enterprises

Eric Connors, Chief Product Officer at iCIMS, emphasized the importance of addressing frontline hiring:

“Frontline workers are the foundation of industries like healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and retail. Yet hiring for these roles at scale, while keeping the application process quick and easy, remains a challenge. Apli directly addresses these pain points and expands our ability to offer enhanced end-to-end recruiting across all hiring types.”

Apli’s co-CEOs, Vera Makarov and José María Pertusa, also highlighted the global opportunity:

“Frontline hiring remains a massive, underserved market. Joining forces with iCIMS allows us to bring our proven conversational hiring technology to new regions and help multinational employers reimagine frontline hiring with AI.”

iCIMS confirmed that it will continue serving Apli’s existing customers in Latin America. At the same time, iCIMS customers worldwide will be able to integrate iCIMS Frontline AI into their core platform experience, benefiting from conversational engagement and advanced assessments to streamline frontline hiring.