Reykjavík-based startup 50skills has raised €5.3 million, approximately $6 million, to advance its artificial intelligence operating system for people workflows. The funding round was co-led by Frumtak Ventures, Swiss Post Ventures, Avant, and American family office DRD Investments. The company plans to use the capital to expand sales, marketing, and community teams while continuing to develop AI agents that work alongside HR departments.
Funding and Investor Support
Ásthildur Otharsdóttir, Partner at Frumtak Ventures and Chair of the 50skills board, said, "50skills has turned years of customer feedback into a platform organisations run their people operations on every day." She added that as AI changes how work gets done, the winners will be those that bring people, workflows, and AI agents together safely and effectively. The round combines strategic expertise across technology, logistics, and financial services.
How the Platform Works
50skills describes its product as an AI operating system for people workflows, designed to help HR teams manage recurring processes in one place. HR teams describe the process they want in plain language, and the platform converts it into an operational workflow connected to existing systems. Automation handles predictable tasks, AI agents manage steps that require interpretation, and human employees retain control over decisions requiring judgment.
The company offers two core products: Hire, an applicant tracking system, and Journeys, the AI-powered platform for building and running people processes. The platform supports onboarding, contracts and signatures, employee requests and approvals, background checks, equipment, and access management. According to the company, it has been used to complete millions of actions across these HR processes in the past year.
Traction and Customer Growth
Founded in Iceland in 2017, 50skills has built a customer base that includes major employers and public sector organisations. Clients include Icelandair, Eimskip, Blue Lagoon, Domino's, and Securitas, as well as Iceland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the City of Reykjavík. The company is also growing its presence across the Nordics and the United Kingdom.
Platform activity has accelerated sharply, with the company reporting more than one million automated actions last year and six million within the first few months of this year. CEO Kristján Freyr Kristjánsson said customers are using the platform more and asking for additional capabilities. He attributed this growth to the company's ability to run operations efficiently and provide practical AI support for people teams.
Expansion and Future Plans
The fresh capital will support hiring across sales, marketing, and community functions as 50skills prepares to enter new markets. The company currently employs around 20 people across Iceland, Stockholm, and the United Kingdom, with additional hires planned. It is planning expansion into the United States and the Benelux region while continuing to strengthen its Nordic operations.
Kristjánsson said, "We are building the operating system for people workflows, where HR teams design the experience they want for their employees and the platform runs it." He emphasized that the challenge is balancing deterministic workflows, AI interpretation, and human oversight with governance and security. He added that AI is here to stay, and organisations must use it in a responsible way with human supervision.
With this €5.3 million funding round, 50skills is positioned to scale its AI-powered HR platform beyond its Icelandic roots and Nordic foothold. The investment signals confidence in the company's approach to uniting automation, AI agents, and human decision-making within a single operating system. As HR teams face increasingly complex administrative demands, 50skills aims to make responsible AI a practical part of everyday people operations.