Second Talent
Second Talent is a managed talent platform that connects US startups with pre-vetted, AI-native software engineers and specialists across nine Asian markets. The company handles end-to-end recruitment, Employer of Record services, payroll, and compliance, delivering a shortlist of 6-8 qualified candidates within 24 hours at rates starting at $23/hour. Its talent pool includes specialized AI roles such as RLHF specialists, AI evaluation experts, and engineers experienced with tools like Claude Code and Cursor.
- HR Technology
- Artificial Intelligence
- Software Only
Funding
Founders
Founder details are not available yet.
Product
Problem
US startups face significant challenges when hiring technical talent, including high domestic costs, lengthy recruitment cycles, and difficulties navigating cross-border employment compliance. Finding engineers with hands-on experience in modern AI tooling and agentic workflows adds another layer of complexity to an already demanding process.
Solution
Second Talent provides a managed talent platform that connects US startups with pre-vetted software engineers and AI specialists across nine Asian markets. The company handles end-to-end recruitment operations, including sourcing, technical vetting, and matching, then manages contracts, payroll, tax, and compliance through its Employer of Record service. Clients receive a shortlist of 6-8 qualified candidates within 24 hours and can begin working with hired engineers from week one. The platform's talent pool includes AI-native engineers experienced with tools like Claude Code and Cursor, as well as specialized AI training roles such as RLHF specialists and AI evaluation experts.
Target Audience
Primary customers are US startups and scale-ups seeking cost-effective, AI-native engineering talent and specialized AI training personnel, as well as companies looking to expand into Asian markets without establishing local legal entities.
Features
- AI-assisted matching from a pool of 100,000+ pre-vetted engineers across nine Asian markets, with candidates filtered through a five-stage process including live technical interviews, skills assessments, background checks, and reference verification
- Specialized AI talent categories including AI agent developers, LLM engineers, RLHF specialists, coding AI trainers, and AI evaluation specialists for model training and red-teaming
- Employer of Record services covering compliant local contracts, USD payroll, social insurance, and benefits across Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India
- Candidate matching delivered within 24 hours, with rates starting at $23/hour and reported payroll savings of 50-70% compared to US-based hiring
- Dedicated talent dashboard for candidates featuring open matches, USD pay ranges, timezone overlap, application tracking, and monthly USD payouts
- Continuous upskilling program providing engineers with ongoing training in Claude Code, Cursor, and the latest AI development stacks