Byteboard

High-Level Overview

Byteboard builds a platform for project-based, identity-blind coding assessments and live interviews that simulate real-world software engineering tasks, replacing traditional algorithmic interviews. It serves technology companies like Figma, Lyft, Webflow, Intuit, and others seeking to hire engineers more efficiently, equitably, and with reduced bias, addressing flaws in conventional technical hiring that favor memorization over practical skills.[1][2][5][6] Clients report doubled onsite-to-offer rates, 50%+ increases in underrepresented hires, and savings of over 120 engineering hours monthly, with Byteboard raising $13M before its January 2025 acquisition by Karat, which integrates its tech for AI-era talent evaluation.[1][2][3][5]

Origin Story

Byteboard was founded in 2019 in Fremont, California, by Sargun Kaur (CEO), Nikke Hardson-Hurley (Co-Founder), Heather Buletti (Head of Engineering), and Juliana Suarez (Head of Operations/Chief of Staff), all with deep engineering and operations expertise.[1][2][6] The idea emerged from their frustrations as engineers: technical interviews were performative, memorization-heavy, time-intensive, and biased—disproportionately harming underrepresented groups, like women who are 7x more likely to drop out after poor experiences—while failing to predict on-the-job success.[5][6] Early traction came from proving project-based assessments reduced false positives/negatives, gained adoption by high-profile clients like Figma and Lyft, and secured $13M in funding before the 2025 Karat acquisition.[1][2][3][5]

Core Differentiators

• Project-Based & Identity-Blind Assessments: Evaluates real-world skills via job-simulating tasks, not algorithms, minimizing bias and focusing on practical engineering ability.[1][2][4][5][6]
• Efficiency Gains: Automates pre-onsite screening, shortens cycles by half, boosts top-of-funnel volume 5x, and saves hundreds of engineering hours monthly.[2][3][5]
• Equity & Diversity Focus: Anonymous rubrics increase underrepresented hires by 50%+, improve candidate experience, and double onsite-to-offer rates.[2][5][6]
• AI Integration Readiness: Complements AI tools in evaluations, preparing for AI-transformed development; post-acquisition, enhances Karat's support for broader roles.[1][5]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Byteboard rides the skills-based hiring wave amid talent shortages and AI disruption in software engineering, where traditional interviews falter as AI tools like code generators become standard. Its timing aligns with post-2023 hiring shifts toward practical, bias-reduced assessments, fueled by diversity mandates and efficiency demands in a market where engineering leaders prioritize hire quality.[1][5][6] Market forces like AI proliferation favor Byteboard's approach, enabling measurement of AI-proficiency alongside core skills; its Karat integration amplifies ecosystem influence, scaling equitable tools for thousands of interviews yearly and pushing the industry from performative tests to job-relevant evaluations.[1][2]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Post-acquisition, Byteboard's tech will fuel Karat's expansion into AI-enabled hiring at scale, targeting senior/staff roles with domain-specific, leadership-focused assessments. Trends like ubiquitous AI coding tools and regulatory diversity pressures will shape its path, evolving influence toward standardized, global benchmarks for engineering talent. This positions it to redefine hiring from gatekeeping to true skill signaling, building on its proven efficiency to help tech firms thrive in an AI-first world—much like how it first transformed interviews for Figma and Lyft.[1][5]