Even after reviewing résumés, cover letters, and interviews, choosing the right candidate for a job can be a mysterious process. Hiring managers often rely on their biases about the world or gut feelings to inform their decision, making the process far from an exact science.
That’s why Sarah Lucena built Mappa, an AI-powered behavioral intelligence platform that aims to take some of the guesswork out of hiring. Mappa trained an AI model to detect voice patterns that correlate with certain traits, such as communication style, empathy, and confidence. Applicants simply answer some questions from Mappa’s AI agent, and then the platform sends hiring managers a shortlist of candidates with traits that are compatible with the role.
Mappa is a Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco.
“Mappa comes to the market with the goal of really, truly understanding people,” Lucena said in an interview with TechCrunch. “We don’t really categorize traits as good or bad. We understand traits as compatible or not.”
Lucena founded Mappa in 2023 with her two co-founders, Pablo Bérgolo and Daniel Moretti, and has raised $3.4 million in a seed round led by Tim Draper’s investment firm, Draper Associates. In less than three years, the startup has scaled to more than 130 customers in the U.S. and more than $4 million in annualized recurring revenue.
Mappa claims one of its biggest advantages is data. The startup built highly curated datasets specifically for understanding human behavior. Mappa originally attempted to assess candidates based on video submissions and their online presence; however, they’ve found voice analysis to be the most effective method.
Mappa’s platform has already helped companies find employees who stick around longer, according to Lucena. While the standard annual turnover rate for companies is around 30%, she says employees hired through Mappa have a turnover rate of just 2%.
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Lucena says Mappa’s focus is always helping companies find the best people, but that often results in a more equitable hiring process. Mappa has facilitated over 3,000 hires to date, and more than 60% of them were women, LGBTQ+, or immigrants. Lucena, who was born and raised in Brazil, says she’s proud to have created more opportunities for these people.
Moving forward, Lucena says she sees Mappa evolving from a services company into an infrastructure provider. The startup’s API has seen traction among companies who want to use its behavioral analysis in situations beyond hiring. Tim Draper personally uses Mappa to assess founders his firm is considering investing in, and the educational platform Re-Skilling.ai uses the platform to understand skills that students can improve on.
In the future, Lucena sees that Mappa could be used to help approve candidates for loans who don’t have an extensive credit history. She sees Mappa as a tool to help assess people more fairly in all kinds of settings.
If you want to hear from Mappa firsthand, and see dozens of additional pitches, attend valuable workshops, and make the connections that drive business results, head here to learn more about this year’s Disrupt, held October 27 to 29 in San Francisco.
