Shredded: Spaggiari, Workday, Recruit Holdings, talentguide, Valeria, Indeed, Upwork & More

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Dude, it turns out that Winston Smart Recruiter's first AI hiring sidekick is taking all the grunt work out of Recruiter's Day. Things like candidate screening, scheduling, all the admin garbage no one actually wants to touch. Winston can do it all.

• 0:17Speaker 01

  Man, you know I'm a fan of using new tech that takes the boring repetitive crap out of a Recruiter's Day and allows them to have more time to connect with hiring managers and candidates.

• 0:29Speaker 00

  Yep, Winston is doing the heavy lifting while recruiters kick back and do the actual hiring stuff. You know, like talking to people.

• 0:37Speaker 01

  I really dig that Smart Recruiters is evolving out of the legacy ATS model and embracing cleaner processes using AI. With most ATS providers, it's like, hey, 2003 called and it wants its 30-minute application process back.

• 0:53Speaker 00

  No doubt. It sounds like Rebecca and the team are using Winston to push Smart Recruiters into the future while the ATS vendors are basically on an AOL dial-up modem with a dashboard.

• 1:05Speaker 01

  With Smart Recruiters, Winston does the grind and the recruiters get the glory.

• 1:11Speaker 00

  For more information on superhuman hiring with Winston, visit smartrecruiters.com. That's smartrecruiters.com.

• 1:19Speaker 01

  Start using Winston today, or I guess you can stick with...

• 1:25Speaker 02

  Now we return you to our regular scheduled program in progress.

• 1:29Speaker 03

  Hide your kids, lock the doors. You're listening to HR's most dangerous podcast. Chad Soash and Joel Cheeseman.

• 1:38Speaker 04

  Hi kids, it's Cole Cheeseman and I'm bringing you The Shred for the second week of February 2026. The Shred is a weekly roundup of what's making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase, the online community of workers of all kinds, like hourly employees, tradespeople, and healthcare technicians. Access jobs make connections and support each other in every aspect of their work life. Jobcase has over 100 million workers on their platform, so if you need to hire, you probably need to talk to Jobcase today. Learn more by going to jobcase.com/hire. Again, that's jobcase.com/hire.

• 2:17Speaker 04

  And now to the news in no particular order. Ambienta SGR announced that its portfolio company Spaghiari acquired Jobiri and Prima Scuola for undisclosed amounts. The add-on deals expand Spaghiari's software offerings across early childhood, university, and career guidance services, supporting broader digitalization of education processes. The founders will reinvest and continue collaborating with the group. Another one. Workday announced that co-founder and executive chair Anil Bhusri has returned as CEO, effective immediately, succeeding Carl Eisenbach, who stepped down and will serve as strategic advisor.

• 2:58Speaker 04

  The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full year outlook with an exception related to GAAP operating margin. Another one. Recruit Holdings reported Q3 fiscal 2025 revenue of JPY 943.1 billion, up 5.2% year-over-year, driven by 8.9% growth in HR technology. Operating income rose 30.4%. The company raised full year guidance and announced divestitures with limited expected financial impact. Another one.

• 3:39Speaker 04

  Gent-based HR tech company TalentGuide raised 1.3 million euros to expand its AI-driven skills intelligence platform across Europe. The SAAS tool maps workforce capabilities using existing company data, supports upskilling and workforce planning, and will use the funding to grow its product, engineering, and revenue teams. Another one. Valeria, a Barcelona-based payroll startup, raised 2 million dollars from venture friends and others. The company builds an AI-driven platform for high turnover industries, automating onboarding, payroll, and compliance.

• 4:21Speaker 04

  Launched in 2025, it serves over 100 companies and plans international expansion with the new funding.

• 4:29Speaker 04

  Indeed has launched a chat GPT app embedding job discovery into conversational AI. Users can connect profiles, receive personalized recommendations and explore listings within chat GPT. While transactions remain on Indeed, the move shifts early-stage job search into AI interfaces, potentially influencing recruitment, visibility and workflow.

• 4:53Speaker 05

  Another one.

• 4:55Speaker 04

  Upworks Q4 2025 revenue rose 3.6% to $198.4 million, with AI-related work increasing over 50% to $300 million annualized. Total gross services volume reached $1.02 billion. Full year revenue grew 2.4%, while net income declined. First quarter 2026 guidance fell slightly below analyst's expectations.

• 5:25Speaker 05

  Another one.

• 5:27Speaker 04

  Deal partners with Miami-based Moonpay to offer workers the option to receive salaries in stable coins. The integration enables faster, globally accessible and flexible payments, initially in the UK and EU, with plans to expand to the US, supporting secure, compliant crypto payroll.

• 5:47Speaker 05

  Another one.

• 5:49Speaker 04

  The US added 130,000 jobs in January, exceeding expectations, with unemployment at 4.3%. Gains were concentrated in healthcare, professional services and construction, while government lost jobs. Despite revisions showing weaker 2025 growth, economists see stabilization, but no underlying labor market challenges remain.

• 6:12Speaker 05

  Another one.

• 6:14Speaker 04

  Phenom, a Philadelphia-based AI HR platform, acquired London-based B Applied, which develops adaptive cognitive assessments. The acquisition aims to integrate evidence-based skills validation into Phenom's platform, enhancing hiring accuracy and fairness. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• 6:33Speaker 05

  Another one.

• 6:35Speaker 04

  Randstad reported Q4 2025 revenue of 5.8 billion euro, down 4.4% year-over-year with mixed regional performance. Operating profit rose to 129 million euro from a prior loss, while net income was 90 million euro below forecast. Full year revenue declined 4% with growth in Southern Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America.

• 7:04Speaker 05

  Another one.

• 7:05Speaker 04

  Take two, a New York-based AI platform for healthcare recruiting raised 14 million dollars in Series A funding led by human capital. The company plans to expand its AI agent network to automate the full recruiting process, including sourcing, screening, credentializing, scheduling and onboarding.

• 7:28Speaker 04

  Be sure to tune in to the weekly show for this and more news and commentary from the world of recruiting. Big thanks to Jobcase for supporting this thread. No matter the size of your company, you can quickly find great workers in the Jobcase community. Whether you need one employee around the corner or want to hire hundreds across the country, Jobcase helps you find the right people fast. Hit up jobcase.com/hire to learn more. Again, that's jobcase.com/hire. Cheeseman out.

• 7:58Speaker 06

  Adios turd nuggets.