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§ Private Profile · Miami, FL, USA
Ponte Labor is a technology company.
Ponte Labor develops an AI-powered recruiting platform tailored for the hotel industry. Its core product automates key hiring functions, including resume and voice AI pre-screening, interview scheduling, and onboarding. This technical approach efficiently matches candidates with hospitality employers, streamlining talent acquisition.
Co-founded in 2023 by Stephanie Murra Nader and Lorenza Velez, the company emerged from a clear market insight. These Colombian immigrants, both Harvard MBA graduates, identified persistent labor shortages in US hospitality and a pool of skilled Hispanic immigrant workers, inspiring their solution to bridge this gap.
Ponte Labor serves hotel HR teams needing efficient staffing and Hispanic immigrant job seekers. The company's vision is to reshape the US hospitality labor market by fostering direct connections between workers and trusted employers. This ensures fair pay and clear schedules, creating a more accessible employment ecosystem.
Ponte Labor has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Ponte Labor has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Ponte Labor has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Ponte Labor's investors include Harlem Capital, Antiportfolio Ventures, Freestyle Capital, Y Combinator.
Ponte Labor is a Miami-based HR tech startup founded in 2023 that builds a platform connecting legally authorized Hispanic immigrant workers with U.S. employers facing labor shortages, primarily in hospitality roles like housekeeping, chefs, and waiters.[1][2][4] It serves hotels and restaurants (e.g., Omni Hotels & Resorts, Pyramid Global) struggling to fill over 10 million open frontline jobs, while helping immigrants overcome language, cultural, and access barriers to stable employment.[1][2][3] The platform solves acute labor gaps by pre-vetting candidates via an in-house AI recruiter on WhatsApp and voice interviews, matching them directly to employers without agencies, and handling onboarding—resulting in hires 20% faster than traditional methods at an average of 10 days.[1][2][5] Ponte has onboarded over 60,000 candidates, placed nearly 800 workers, secured 14 employer partners, and grown annualized net revenue from $70,000 in February 2024 to $550,000, with a $3M seed round at $15M valuation.[1][2][3]
Ponte Labor was co-founded by Stephanie Murra and Lorenza Vélez, two Colombian immigrants who met as early hires at Addi, a BNPL fintech in Colombia, before becoming Harvard Business School roommates.[1][2] The idea emerged during their final HBS semester in April 2023, spotting the mismatch between millions of work-authorized Hispanic immigrants and blue-collar job shortages in hospitality amid retiring baby boomers.[1][2] They launched the platform in November 2023, quickly gaining traction: onboarding 60,000+ candidates, placing 800 workers, and raising $1.5M from accelerators like Better Tomorrow Ventures' The Mint and NFX’s FAST, followed by a $3M seed led by Harlem Capital with BTV, The 81 Collection, and Wischoff Ventures.[1][2][3]
Ponte rides the U.S. labor shortage wave, with 10+ million open frontline jobs exacerbated by boomer retirements, while tapping an underserved pool of Hispanic immigrants facing barriers to formal employment.[1][2] Timing aligns with rising demand for efficient, tech-driven hiring in blue-collar sectors like hospitality, where traditional methods fail amid economic pressures like lost hotel revenue from understaffing.[1] Market forces favoring Ponte include AI advancements for scalable vetting, WhatsApp's dominance among immigrants, and investor bets on immigrant-focused fintech/HR tech amid diversification trends.[1][2][3] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering culturally attuned platforms, enabling economic mobility for immigrants and redefining access to "hard-to-fill" roles, potentially expanding HR tech's inclusivity.[3]
Ponte's momentum—revenue tripling to $550K annualized, major employer wins, and seed funding—positions it to scale nationally, expanding from hospitality into construction and elder care while layering on financial products and immigration support.[1][2][3] Trends like AI hiring automation, labor crunches, and Hispanic workforce growth (projected to drive U.S. demographics) will propel it, evolving from job matcher to full immigrant empowerment ecosystem.[1][3] Expect Ponte to capture more market share, achieve profitability, and inspire copycats, solidifying its role in bridging America's labor divide as it unleashes Hispanic professional potential.[1][2]
Ponte Labor has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in March 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2025 | $3M Seed | Harlem Capital | Antiportfolio Ventures, Freestyle Capital, Y Combinator | Announced |