Despite Donald Trump’s new rules on H-1B visas, startup Metaview, which is developing a platform for automating recruitment using AI, is not going to abandon its plans to scale in the US.
Despite Donald Trump’s new rules on H-1B visas, startup Metaview, which is developing a platform for automating recruitment using AI, is not going to abandon its plans to scale in the US.
The startup was founded in London in 2018 and has already attracted about $50 million in investment. The team consists of 30–40 people: two-thirds work in Europe, one-third in the US. The goal for the next six months is to equalize the ratio 50/50. In August, the startup opened an office in San Francisco.
When Metaview co-founder and CTO Shahriar Tajbakhsh heard about the new $100,000 fee for each H-1B worker, he wasn’t scared. «The people we hire create so much value for the company that $100,000 is just a small amount compared to the results,» he was quoted as saying by Business Insider.
The company plans to submit new H-1B applications in the next lottery and make up to 50 hires in the US during the year, of which approximately 24 will be H-1B.
Tajbakhsh himself is moving to the US (he received an EB-1A visa), and his co-founder remains to manage the London office.
Tajbakhsh admits that for small startups, the additional costs can be a problem. But for Metaview, the most important thing is a world-class team. «By trying to save on talent, the founder is doing the most irresponsible thing. The only way to build something meaningful is to have a team of ambitious and strong people,» he says.
One of Metaview’s investors, former Facebook top manager Jonathan Heiliger, even wrote on LinkedIn that Trump’s new rules have become a kind of «value test» for companies: some are backing down, others are ready to fight for the best specialists.
Tajbakhsh believes it is too early to draw conclusions about the impact of the new rules. Some roles in the AI sphere may be exempt from paying the fee altogether as a «national interest.» «I don’t want to be distracted by things I can’t control. I focus on the team, the business and those things that depend on us,» he concludes.
