Even after reviewing resumes, cover letters, and interviews, choosing the right candidate for a job can be a mysterious process. Hiring managers often rely on their biases or gut feelings about the world to inform their decision, making the process far from an exact science.
That’s why Sarah Lucena created Mappa, an AI-powered behavioral intelligence platform that aims to take some of the guesswork out of appointments. Mappa trained an AI model to detect voice patterns that correlate with certain traits such as communication style, empathy and confidence. Applicants simply answer a few questions from Mappa’s AI agent, and then the platform sends hiring managers a short list of candidates with the qualities that are best suited for the role.
Mappa is a Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco.
“Mappa really comes to market with the goal of understanding people,” Lucena said in an interview with TechCrunch. “We don’t really classify traits as good or bad. We think of traits as compatible or not.”
Lucena founded Mappa in 2023 with his two co-founders, Pablo Bergoglio 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 grown to over 130 customers in the US and over $4 million in annual recurring revenue.
Mappa claims that its biggest advantage is data. The startup created highly curated datasets specifically for understanding human behavior. Mappa originally attempted to assess candidates based on video submissions and their online presence; However, they have found noise analysis to be the most effective method.
According to Lucena, Mappa’s platform has already helped companies find long-term employees. While the standard annual turnover rate for companies is around 30%, she says employees hired through Mappa have a turnover rate of only 2%.
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Lucena says Mappa’s focus is always on helping companies find the best people, but that often results in a more equitable hiring process. Mappa has provided placements to more than 3,000 people so far, and more than 60% of them were women, LGBTQ+ or immigrants. Lucena, who was born and raised in Brazil, says she is proud to create more opportunities for these people.
Going forward, Lucena says he sees Mappa evolving from a services company to an infrastructure provider. The startup’s API has seen traction among companies that want to use its behavioral analytics in situations beyond recruiting. Tim Draper personally uses Mappa to assess founders his company is considering investing in, and educational platform Re-Skilling.ai uses the platform to understand the skills students can improve.
In the future, Lucena believes Mappa could be used to help get loans approved for candidates who do not have extensive credit histories. She sees MAPPA as a tool to help assess people more objectively in all types of settings.
If you want to hear directly from Mappa, and see dozens of additional pitches, participate in valuable workshops, and build relationships that drive business results, To learn more about this year’s disruption, go hereHeld in San Francisco from 27 to 29 October.
