News - January, 2024

UK recruitment platform Otta acquired by our portfolio company, Welcome to the Jungle.

Munich/Luxembourg – January 22, 2024 –Welcome to the Jungle, the leading French employer branding and recruitment platform, has announced the successful acquisition of London-based Otta, the candidate-first job search platform. This acquisition constitutes a forceful entry into the UK job search market.

Through this acquisition, Welcome to the Jungle will create the leading candidate-centric job search experience across Europe and the USA and deliver the best offering to its clients and candidates.

As of now, the Otta brand will continue to operate, working with some of the world’s leading brands and almost two million job seekers across the UK, USA and EU as the go-to tech and startups jobs platform. Otta co-founders, Sam Franklin, Theo Margolius and Xav Kearney will remain part of the organisation.

Welcome to the Jungle currently works to increase the visibility of 5,500 businesses to almost three million active workers across France and Czech Republic by enhancing their employer brand and enabling them to offer a seamless recruitment experience to their candidates and recruiters.

The business which launched in 2015 employs more than 300 people and announced its Series C fundraise of $54m in early 2023 with participation from Cipio, Blisce and Revaia, among others.

Jérémy Clédat, CEO and co-founder of Welcome to the Jungle, says, “I’m thrilled that Otta is joining Welcome to the Jungle. We both uniquely believe in a future of work based on the power of matching and share the same DNA that disrupts market conventions, from our branding to our obsession for helping people find meaning through their work. I can’t wait to build the best of employer branding and sourcing solution and make a very compelling and unique offer for our clients.”

Roland Dennert, Managing Partner of Cipio Partners, commented, “When we led the company's Series C founding round exactly one year ago, we believed that the SaaS-based, branding focused approach would be more resilient in challenging times than transaction-based models. This has fully paid off as Welcome to the Jungle continues to enjoy strong momentum in the current environment, enabling it to grow both organically and through acquisitions.”

Sam Franklin, co-founder and CEO at Otta, added, “We started Otta in 2019 to make job search less soul-crushing, and build an incredible candidate-first product. We’ve delivered a lot of impact so far, including 6M applications made on Otta in 2023 sent to 10,000 companies. I’m excited for our future within Welcome to the Jungle. We think it’s a great combination culturally, and we share a common mission to build a better future for job seekers.”

About Cipio Partners
Founded in 2003, Cipio Partners is a leading investment management and advisory firm for European growth capital & minority buyouts for technology companies. Cipio Partners targets European growth stage technology businesses with €10-50 million in revenue and makes initial investments ranging from €5-15 million. Cipio Partners operates from offices in Munich and Luxembourg. Further information is available at www.cipiopartners.com

Media contact
Sophie von Eberhardt: media@cipiopartners.com