Why We Invested in Ponte
We are thrilled to announce our investment in Ponte!
Ponte is unleashing the professional potential of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S.
There is an unprecedented labor shortage in the U.S., with over 10 million open jobs and not enough workers to fill them. Most of these are frontline positions, such as housekeepers, chefs, and waiters. Because of these staff shortages, hotels can’t open all of their rooms, and restaurants can’t operate every day, resulting in lost revenue opportunities. The shortage is worsening as baby boomers continue to retire.
Meanwhile, over 1 million Hispanic immigrants come to the U.S. legally every year with work permits. But there are no labor solutions tailored to this population and most end up working informally with no access to growth opportunities, health insurance, or stable income .
Ponte is bridging the growing gap between labor supply and demand in the U.S. by building the first labor platform for Hispanic immigrants. The solution is simple: hotels and restaurants post jobs on the Ponte platform and are connected with skilled, credentialed workers. Their hiring platform pre-vets, matches, and onboards legally authorized hourly workers faster and more efficiently than traditional methods. They've also built an in-house AI recruiter which pre-vets candidates through WhatsApp and voice-based AI interviews.
But Ponte’s vision is much bigger. The company plans to expand this labor platform into a broader support system for Hispanic immigrants, offering value-added services like financial products, immigration support, and more.
It’s an impressive team. Stephanie and Lorenza, two Colombianas living in the U.S., met while working together as two of the earliest hires at Addi, a BNPL company in Colombia. After that, they became roommates at HBS, where they started working on Ponte.
Ponte has been steadily growing since they launched the platform in November 2023, onboarding over 60,000 candidates and placing nearly 800 workers in hospitality roles. They are working with 14 employers using its platform to hire workers, like Omni Hotels & Resorts, as well as large hotel management companies such as Pyramid Global, Peachtree Hotel Group, and Atrium Hospitality. And they are just getting started!
If you want to read more about the fundraise, check out this article from TechCrunch!
