Glints Empowers Southeast Asia’s Professionals with End-to-End Talent Platform

Southeast Asia’s workforce is growing fast. Young professionals often struggle to find meaningful jobs or build relevant skills. Glints aims to change that. The company offers a talent ecosystem that spans job search, training and employer matching. Under Oswald Yeo’s leadership, Glints now serves over 5 million professionals and 50,000 employers in eight markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Glints began in 2013 when Yeo left Stanford to help friends find internships. By 2015, the platform had 7,000 users and secured seed funding. It officially launched that year in Singapore and expanded into Indonesia by 2016. Today it offers hiring, managed talent, community forums and skills education.

Building Careers Over Time

Glints operates as more than a job portal. It aims to guide careers. The platform includes Glints Academy for coding bootcamps, Glints ExpertClass for professional upskilling and Glints Community for peer-driven advice. These features attract consistent monthly traffic, with 4 million visits at the height of the pandemic.

In 2022, Glints raised US$50 million in Series D funding. The round, co-led by DCM Ventures, Lavender Hill Capital and PERSOL Holdings, brought total fundraising above US$80 million. Yeo said the funds would help expand into the Philippines and strengthen remote hiring tools through its TalentHub product, which grew more than elevenfold in two years.

From Matchmaking to Managed Talent

Glints maintains a pay-for-hire model. Employers pay only when they fill a position, a contrast to upfront fees from traditional recruiters. The TalentHunt service combines tech tools with recruiter support to place candidates more efficiently and at a lower cost. Companies including AIA, IKEA, Gojek and Starbucks now use Glints alongside startups and mid-sized firms.

Remote Roles and Cross-Border Talent

The shift toward remote work helped Glints reach new markets. TalentHub allows employers to onboard professionals across Southeast Asia with compliance support, payroll and management tools. The service has doubled in size year after year.

A Business Built on Outcomes

Glints reported annual revenue growth of 85 percent in 2022 and gross profit up 110 percent. Indonesia and Vietnam operations are profitable. Employers see faster hiring cycles, often around 28 days compared to the industry norm of 40 to 50, and lower costs.

A Training-Led Advantage

The academy and expert classes aim to address regional skills gaps. Glints Academy in Indonesia has graduated hundreds of developers, with 85 percent securing roles within 60 days. This puts Glints ahead of rivals who focus solely on job listings.

Community and Career Development

Glints Community has more than 50,000 active posts. Users share resume tips, interview advice and local insights. That peer-driven model gives users a sense of belonging and shared growth, beyond transactional hiring.

Cultural Roots in Southeast Asia

Most of Glints’ leadership grew up in Southeast Asia. They bring a local-first mindset to product and strategy. The platform supports multiple languages and reflects regional employment norms. Yeo calls this cultural alignment essential to Glints’ growth.

Coping with Challenges

Glints is not without its critics. Some users question whether it operates more like a recruiter than a tech company. New features like "chat-to-apply" aim to deepen engagement, but users will decide the value of such additions.

Focus Amid Market Shifts

Despite layoffs in late 2022, company leaders describe those steps as efforts to stay lean. Yeo has emphasized maintaining a beginner’s mindset and evolving with care rather than overextending.

Scaling Without Losing Focus

Glints is now active in five major markets. Plans to enter the Philippines and other countries are underway. Yeo stresses that expansion will be gradual and tied to demand.

Backing from Strong Investors

The Series D included support from investors such as Binny Bansal, Xiaoyin Zhang, Endeavor Catalyst, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and Fresco Capital. They bring both global expertise and regional insight.

Professional Ecosystem, Not Just a Platform

Glints guides people through entire career life cycles. From internship to management, users find support via classes, mentors and community input. The focus remains on career progression, not just short-term placements.

Numbers That Tell a Story

Glints serves more than 3 million registered professionals and 60,000 employers across Southeast Asia. The volume of cross-border job listings has increased elevenfold since 2020.

The Road Ahead

Glints plans further product development, including real-time chat, remote hiring tools and skills validation. It will also expand its product, engineering and data teams. Yeo believes careful growth will serve users better than rapid scaling.

A Human-Centric Approach to Talent

Glints represents more than recruitment. Under Yeo, it has become a full-stack career ecosystem. The company sees the journey through people’s lives, not just their first hire. That approach is visible in how Glints blends technology, training and community.

Through a mix of matching, mentoring and measurement, Glints helps Southeast Asia’s professionals build lasting success. And in doing so, it proves that career development can remain grounded in people, not just processes.

Oswald Yeo, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Glints

Every individual has the opportunity to realize their potential with the right opportunities and resources.