UKG introduced agentic orchestration to its AI-first Workforce Operating Platform, adding Workforce Intelligence Hub and Dynamic Workforce Operations. New capabilities include Operational Benchmarks, Fully Loaded Labor Cost, Real-Time Workforce Event Notifications, Live Schedule, and Live Coverage.

Blink has raised $17M in new funding led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments, affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. The round coincides with a new global partnership with Shake Shack and will support Blink’s AI-first platform for frontline employee experience. B

Wellfound acquires Hirefly, an agentic recruiting platform automating outbound sourcing and inbound application review. The move integrates Hirefly’s AI-first workflows and customer base across startups and enterprises, strengthening Wellfound’s recruiting stack and Autopilot service. Wellfou

Sign In Solutions announced the acquisition of The Receptionist on January 12, 2026, reinforcing its position as a global leader in visitor management technology. The Denver-based The Receptionist serves more than 5,500 customers across 35 countries and is widely recognized for its Radical Support®

Zoom has acquired BrightHire, adding AI-powered interview intelligence to Zoom Workplace. The deal brings interview planning, automated notes, real-time coaching, and analytics directly into Zoom, enhancing millions of hiring conversations each year. BrightHire—trusted by Canva, Duolingo, Instacar

Central, a Y Combinator-backed startup, has raised $8.6 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital to build the first AI-native back-office platform for startups. Unlike traditional HR and finance tools, Central integrates directly into Slack to automate payroll, benefits, compliance, accoun

hireEZ has launched Agentic AI, a semi-autonomous recruiting solution embedded within its AI-first talent acquisition platform. Positioned between fully autonomous and assistant-level AI, Agentic AI offers guided autonomy—automating tasks like sourcing, outreach, and analytics while keeping recrui