WorkWhile board member and former Marqeta CEO Simon Khalaf expands role, becoming Chief Operating Officer, amid 10x three-year growth
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 16, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- WorkWhile, the innovative AI-powered labor platform that matches businesses with reliable hourly workers, today announced that it has raised $23 million in Series B funding amid strong growth. The round was led by Rethink Impact, with participation from previous investors Khosla Ventures and Reach Capital. Citi Impact Fund, GingerBread Capital, and Illumen Capital also joined the round. Funds will accelerate WorkWhile's growth as it disrupts the $650B global staffing market, which includes $230B of temporary staffing in the US alone.
WorkWhile also announced that board member Simon Khalaf, former CEO of fintech and payment solutions company Marqeta, is joining the company as Chief Operating Officer. His expanded role comes as the company achieves 10x three-year growth and plans to double its headcount over the next year. Khalaf is joined by several other key hires, including Cyrus Akrami (CRO), Madhu Jagannathan (CFO), and Davis Waddell (Global Strategic Partnerships). Each adds a wealth of experience that will be instrumental to WorkWhile's next phase of growth.
"A full 80.5 million Americans are hourly workers, which makes up 55% of all workers, yet both businesses and workers lack a modern mechanism to connect and adapt. We're devoting all of our resources, energy, and vision to change this," said WorkWhile Co-Founder and CEO Jarah Euston. "Using AI, we're not only transforming how businesses identify and secure talent, but also how workers find opportunities that fit their lives."
A Smarter Way to Hire
WorkWhile uses AI and machine learning to drive significant gains in worker productivity, satisfaction, and financial well-being, resulting in a more skilled and engaged talent pool, and more efficient, cost-effective staffing solutions for companies. The company's machine-learning algorithms use tens of millions of data points and analyze 150 factors such as no-show rates and access to transportation to predict worker quality, reliability, and trustworthiness, with 95% accuracy.
WorkWhile's data science leadership represents a step change from traditional staffing, which provides little to no insight into who shows up for a shift. Attendance is vitally important, as no-shows hit organizations from both a monetary and productivity standpoint and hinder the level of service they can provide their customers. WorkWhile, however, leverages AI to achieve industry-leading fill rates and 96% show rates. Without relying on a single recruiter, WorkWhile has assembled more than a million frontline workers and dramatically reduced the time to find help from weeks to hours. This gives businesses a workforce on-demand, while workers gain access to perks such as fast payment options, upskilling credentials, virtual healthcare services, and support resources.
"We bet on WorkWhile early writing the first check, and it's exciting to see the company grow as they give working people what they've long needed: job stability and financial security," said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures where the company was incubated. "They are changing labor markets and serving frontline workers with better services."
From the Eras Tour to the Supply Chain, WorkWhile Provides Human Power at Scale
WorkWhile currently connects over one million workers with shifts across warehouse and light industrial, last-mile delivery, event services, food production, hospitality, and more. WorkWhile's advanced technology matches warehouse associates, delivery drivers, cooks, security guards, and more with businesses to help them scale efficiently based on demand and seasonality. For example, in the last year alone, WorkWhile has worked with vendors supplying goods and services at the country's premier venues for events, including Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, NASCAR, Comic-Con, and many more.
"One of the biggest areas of opportunity within the workforce lies in the hands of frontline workers – they are absolutely essential for many of the services we rely on every day. Yet, there hasn't been a good way for companies to find the talent they need, nor have workers found the right opportunities to match their skills and schedules," said Heidi Patel, Managing Partner at Rethink Impact. "WorkWhile expertly fills this gap. We're excited to support WorkWhile as they play a pivotal role in the future of work."
WorkWhile is able to attract quality workers in part due to its user-friendly app experience and flexible scheduling options, which appeal to a variety of workers, including those from non-traditional backgrounds. According to WorkWhile's annual workforce survey of over 5,200 workers, the company found that 77% of workers say that flexible scheduling is essential, reflecting the massive potential talent pool that WorkWhile unlocks for its customers, which include some of the country's largest home and consumer retailers, stadiums, and conventions. In turn, these customers can optimize their own labor strategies by incorporating flex talent to become more streamlined and efficient. The company boasts a Net Dollar Retention rate consistently well over 100%.
WorkWhile's success and innovation are being noticed. WorkWhile ranked 412th in the 2024 Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America, achieving 1,084% growth over a three-year period. It was also recognized as a 2023 technology pioneer by the World Economic Forum. CEO Jarah Euston was named as a recipient of the Woman in Supply Chain Award by Food Logistics and recognized as one of Ernst and Young's Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America.
As a result of its value proposition, innovation, and leadership, WorkWhile attracts some of the brightest minds and most sought after talent in the industry. WorkWhile's team includes alumni from Meta, Google, Airbnb, Lyft, Atlassian, McKinsey, and more.
"WorkWhile's rapid ascent is a direct result of Jarah and the team's dedication and innovative spirit," said board member and new Chief Operating Officer Khalaf. "Our commitment to worker well-being, coupled with the strategic deployment of advanced AI, has yielded extraordinary results. This is the company paving the way for the future of work, and I'm honored to be involved in WorkWhile's operations."
About WorkWhile
WorkWhile is the US's fastest-growing platform for flexible work that connects workers to shifts that fit their skills, schedule, and location. WorkWhile identifies the most reliable frontline workers and supports them with flexibility and resources not available at traditional hourly wage jobs. Businesses leverage WorkWhile for high-quality, reliable talent that they can scale up or down, as needed. WorkWhile serves businesses in the light industrial and hospitality industries across the United States.
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Amber Moore, Moore Communications, 1 5039439381, [email protected]
SOURCE WorkWhile
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