Even after considering resumes, cover letters, and interviews, choosing the right candidate for the job can be a mysterious process. Hiring managers often make decisions based on public bias and intuition, making the process far from an exact science.
That’s why Sara Lucena built Mappa, an AI-powered behavioral intelligence platform aimed at taking the guesswork out of hiring. Mapper trained an AI model to detect speech patterns that correlate with specific traits such as communication style, empathy, and self-confidence. Applicants simply answer a few questions from Mappa’s AI agent, and the platform sends recruiters a shortlist of candidates with characteristics that fit the role.
Mappa is a Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco.
“Mappa came to market with the goal of truly understanding people,” Lucena said in an interview with TechCrunch. “We don’t categorize traits as good or bad. We understand traits as compatible or not.”
Lucena founded Mappa in 2023 with two co-founders, Pablo Bergolo and Daniel Moretti, and raised a $3.4 million seed round led by Tim Draper’s investment firm Draper Associates. In less than three years, the startup has grown to more than 130 customers in the U.S. and more than $4 million in annual recurring revenue.
Mappa claims that one of its biggest advantages is data. The startup has built highly curated datasets specifically to understand human behavior. Mappa initially sought to evaluate candidates based on video submissions and online presence. However, they found that voice analysis was the most effective method.
Lucena said Mappa’s platform is already helping companies find employees who stay with them longer. The typical annual turnover rate for companies is about 30%, but the turnover rate for employees hired through Mappa is only 2%, she says.
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Lucena said Mappa has always focused on helping companies find the best talent, which often results in a more fair hiring process. Mappa has helped hire more than 3,000 people, more than 60% of whom are women, LGBTQ+, or immigrants. Lucena, who was born and raised in Brazil, says she is proud to be able to provide more opportunities for these people.
Going forward, Lucena says Mappa will evolve from a services company to an infrastructure provider. The startup’s API is gaining traction among companies looking to use behavioral analytics in situations beyond recruitment. Tim Draper personally uses Mappa to evaluate founders his company is considering investing in, and education platform Re-Skilling.ai uses the platform to understand the skills students can improve.
In the future, Lucena believes Mappa could be used to help approve loan candidates with limited credit history. She sees Mappa as a tool that can help evaluate people more fairly in all types of environments.
If you want to hear directly from Mappa, see more pitches, attend valuable workshops, and make connections that drive business results, go here to learn more about this year’s Disrupt in San Francisco, October 27-29.
