Securing Frontier AI Research Talent for Synthesia
Find out how DeepRec.ai helped Synthesia secure highly specialised research talent after 27 recruitment agencies had been unable to make a successful hire.
Industry: Generative AI, Video Technology, Enterprise Software
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Hires Made to Date: 2
Roles Placed: Senior Research Engineer, Research Scientist
Results
Specialist AI Hires Made
CV to Interview Ratio
Top 1% of Candidates Reached Interview
Interview Stages Successfully Navigated
About Synthesia
Synthesia is one of the world’s leading AI video generation platforms, enabling organisations to create professional video content without the need for cameras, microphones, studios, or traditional production teams.
Founded in 2017 by AI researchers and entrepreneurs from UCL, Stanford, the Technical University of Munich, and the University of Cambridge, Synthesia’s mission is to empower everyone to create video content and unlock human creativity through artificial intelligence.
As the business continued to scale following significant investment, Synthesia required exceptional research and engineering talent capable of advancing its AI video, voice, and generative technology.
Overview: Solving an Exceptionally Challenging AI Search
Following a £180 million funding raise, Synthesia entered a critical stage of growth as it evolved from a scale-up into a global enterprise technology business.
To support this transition, the company needed highly specialised engineers and researchers capable of contributing to frontier AI development across video, speech, and generative machine learning.
The hiring bar was exceptionally high. Synthesia had worked with 27 recruitment agencies over a two-year period without making a successful hire for these niche requirements.
The business engaged DeepRec.ai to bring greater technical understanding, precision, and market expertise to the search.
DeepRec.ai focused on identifying candidates with the rare combination of advanced research capability, strong engineering experience, and the ability to operate within a fast-moving commercial AI environment.
Hear from Synthesia
“Anthony and Jonathan are knowledgeable in the field they recruit for. They understand the challenge and the hiring bar.
They do not push irrelevant candidates, know when to make a gamble, and are humble in their approach. DeepRec.ai is the only agency that is not costing me time.”
The Partnership
DeepRec.ai worked closely with Synthesia’s leadership and talent teams to understand the technical demands of the roles and the exceptionally high standard required for candidates to progress.
The engagement was led by Anthony and Jonathan, who used their specialist knowledge of the AI research market to deliver a highly focused search rather than relying on volume-based recruitment.
Only the strongest and most relevant candidates were introduced. This resulted in a highly efficient 1.5:1 CV-to-interview ratio, demonstrating the accuracy of DeepRec.ai’s candidate selection and understanding of Synthesia’s hiring requirements.
Only the top 1% of candidates were invited to interview, making quality, preparation, and candidate management critical throughout the process.
DeepRec.ai supported candidates at every stage, maintaining clear communication, managing expectations, and helping them navigate one of the most demanding interview processes in the AI market.
The partnership resulted in two successful specialist hires and established DeepRec.ai as Synthesia’s exclusive voice and video recruitment supplier.
Targeted Hiring for Generative AI, Voice, and Video
DeepRec.ai designed a specialist search strategy focused on researchers and engineers operating at the frontier of generative AI, speech technology, machine learning, and synthetic media.
Rather than presenting broad candidate lists, the team prioritised technical depth, relevance, and alignment with Synthesia’s ambitious product and research roadmap.
DeepRec.ai’s consultants leveraged their global AI network to identify candidates with experience across deep learning, generative models, computer vision, speech AI, and applied research.
Close collaboration with Synthesia ensured that each candidate met both the technical expectations of the role and the cultural demands of a high-growth, research-led organisation.
By combining specialist market knowledge, precise candidate selection, and proactive process management, DeepRec.ai succeeded where numerous other agencies had struggled, helping Synthesia secure the talent required to support its continued growth and innovation.
