Glasgow-based AI recruitment technology firm Willo has gained £3 million in investment from the founder of Mimecast, the cybersecurity firm.

The latest investment from Peter Bauer amounts to the largest single investment in Willo – the scale-up’s total funding now totals more than £5.9m.

Bauer, who co-founded Mimecast in 2003 and has invested over £3.7m in Willo in just the past 18 months, and aims to support the firm’s growth in the US.

Willo was founded in 2020 by Euan Cameron, Andrew Wood, and Hamish Livingston, and has since experienced a 64-fold revenue growth since its first year of trading. The candidate recruitment platform is now used by major companies and organisations like the NHS, Toyota, Samsung, and DPD Group.

The firm operates in 195 countries, and is used to conduct millions of recruitment interviews a year.

Willo already generates over half of its revenue in North America, and plans to use the new influx of funding to expand in the market. The firm is also aiming to speed up the launch of Willo Verified Profiles, which will serve as a new credential verification too which will help employers sift through AI-generated CVs and profiles.

“Employers tell us they are inundated with AI-generated CVs that are hard to verify and review; that’s making it increasingly difficult for genuine, qualified candidates to stand out,” chief executive Euan Cameron said.

“With Willo Verified Profiles, we’re building a new layer of trust into the hiring process – verifying identity, qualifications, skills and experience using a combination of automation, third-party data and video interaction.

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“There are thousands of businesses Peter Bauer could back, so for him to double down on Willo in 2025 is an incredible endorsement of what we’re building. This is an enormous step forward for the team and our vision for how hiring should work in an AI enabled world.”

Peter Bauer: “Willo is firmly established as one of the most progressive and exciting platforms in recruitment technology. It simplifies hiring for employers, improves access for candidates, and puts trust back into the process.

“The team has built a solution that is ready for the challenges of today’s market – and I’m fully behind their vision for the next stage of growth.”

The funding will also support Willo make new hires in the UK and the US, as it seeks to establish its North American headquarters in the US.