ambi.careers, a recruitment startup, has set out to connect venture capital-backed startups with tech and non-tech talent from Portugal, Brazil, and Spain – markets it describes as overlooked in the global hiring landscape.
Its platform already brings together more than 2,400 active vacancies across 1,440 startups backed by VC funds, according to a report by ECO.
Founder and CEO Leo Capelossi says the company’s mission is to give candidates greater confidence in the jobs they pursue while helping startups and scaleups hire faster.
“On the candidates’ side, the challenge is not only to find vacancies, but to understand where it is worth betting,” he told ECO. By focusing on VC-backed firms, ambi.careers aims to highlight opportunities with stronger foundations and investor support.
The platform aggregates openings from startups across Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Estonia, and the United Kingdom, but its strategic focus for sourcing talent is on the first three.
In a LinkedIn post, Capelossi described Portugal, Spain, and Brazil as “three overlooked talent hubs. Three time zones close to the U.S. Three regions with massive pools of skilled professionals.”
Each of these markets, he argues, offers distinct advantages. Portugal consistently ranks among the top non-native English-speaking countries, with the EF English Proficiency Index placing it in the “very high proficiency” category.
Spain combines established innovation hubs in Madrid and Barcelona with emerging expat centers such as Valencia, which has become increasingly attractive to international professionals.
Brazil, meanwhile, brings one of Latin America’s youngest and largest workforces, with more than half the population in the labor force and a growing pool of professionals across technology, sales, and operations.
ambi.careers has already secured partnerships with investors including Bynd in Portugal and Spain and DOMO.VC, one of Brazil’s largest funds. Other funds such as Athena, Indico, Lince, and Shilling also list portfolio opportunities on the platform.
“There are already more and more funds interested in listing open positions in companies in their investment portfolios, which, in turn, gain more prominence and a qualified audience,” Capelossi explained in his comments to ECO.
Although the platform incorporates AI into its processes, Capelossi says technology is not the company’s defining feature, noting that most firms now use it.
He explains that ambi.careers’ real value lies in the human side of recruitment – building trust, understanding culture, shaping the right message, and closing top talent fast. “That’s where we win, and where our clients save the most time.”
Featured image: Founder and CEO Leo Capelossi, who is leading ambi.careers’ mission to connect VC-backed startups with talent across Brazil, Portugal, and Spain. (Photo courtesy of ambi.careers/via SAPO)
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