AI Talent Platform Spotlighted by Toyota and Stellantis

 
Toyota, Stellantis, and Continental (Aumobio) are among the OEMs and Tier1s spotlighting Hashlist, an AI-driven talent platform redefining global workforce strategies in the era of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV). Originating from Finland’s tech ecosystem, Hashlist has grown into a community of over 100,000 automotive software engineers across 30 global hubs. With its AI-powered validation and talent intelligence, the platform reduces hiring time by 25 - 30% while achieving a success rate of more than 95%. Going beyond simple talent matching, Hashlist now serves as a strategic partner bridging High-Cost Countries (HCCs) and Best-Cost Countries (BCCs), and is extending its presence to global stages such as CES. Its long-term vision is to become the essential platform trusted by every OEM and Tier1, accelerating SDV innovation worldwide. We sat down with Robert Laukas, CCO of Hashlist, to hear more.

By Sang-Min Han, Editor, AEM _ han@autoelectronics.co.kr

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Where do you see the biggest bottlenecks in talent and supplier procurement for the automotive industry? What problem did Hashlist set out to solve? 
Laukas        Placing SDVs at the core means OEMs need to operate more like pure tech companies rather than traditional automakers. Most companies now realize they cannot outsource technology and software the way they used to, because outsourcing inevitably leads to delays and higher costs. While traditional talent and supplier procurement methods still play their part, a significant share of development must shift in-house.
Hashlist positions itself as a “transition partner”, enabling OEMs to bring software development back in-house. We provide a platform powered by AI to easily discover and contract the world’s best automotive software engineers and suppliers.






 


How closely are the founders and core team connected to the automotive industry? How has that background shaped the platform and your approach to customers? Given your Finnish base, I wondered if this might connect to the Nokia legacy - similar to how LG Electronics, after exiting smartphones, pivoted to rapid software growth in automotive. 
Laukas        The founding team of Hashlist is deeply connected to Finland’s pure-tech ecosystem, much of which stems from Nokia. We originally started as a boutique talent-matching platform to help Finland’s tech industry grow faster by finding so-called “10x engineers” through AI-powered coding tests and vetting.
When we landed our first automotive customer, we realized there was a very special but fragmented ecosystem of engineers dedicated purely to the automotive industry. We decided to bring this ecosystem together under one platform. Since then, Hashlist has been 100% aligned with the automotive industry’s SDV needs and has grown into a community of over 100,000 engineers across more than 30 global automotive hubs.


 



Automotive is known for being conservative and closed-off - particularly in Asia. How does Hashlist build trust and drive cultural change?   
Laukas        While vehicles can be built locally, software must be developed globally. However, when teams are distributed across countries, OEMs face major difficulties in understanding cultural differences around hiring, contracting, and compensation.
Hashlist combines local expertise in 30+ countries with the trust of over 100,000 engineers, enabling Asian OEMs to establish and scale their in-house software organizations across Europe and the US. We approach every country and customer with care, always starting by advising OEMs on local talent culture, cost-to-hire, and hiring norms to ensure they have the best possible strategy for the specific market.


For OEMs and Tier1s, balancing software capability, cost efficiency, and globalization is crucial. How does Hashlist’s data on HCCs vs. BCCs influence real decisions?    
Laukas        The two main considerations between HCCs (High-Cost Countries) and BCCs (Best-Cost Countries) are quality and cost. Our data helps OEMs and Tier1s identify where comparable quality can be achieved in BCCs at lower cost, and where HCCs still make sense. This enables more informed, case-by-case decisions.
Hashlist primarily supports this decision-making through TalentGraph - a real-time map that visualizes talent intelligence, cost analysis, availability, and experience levels.






 


With outsourcing still common, how is Hashlist different from traditional agencies, global talent platforms, or Tier1 suppliers? 
Laukas        Traditional agencies are often not industry-specific and lack the expertise required for automotive. Even boutique automotive agencies cannot match Hashlist’s scale and automation, making it hard for them to compete on speed or cost. General talent marketplaces rarely integrate well with OEMs, leaving automotive specialists less motivated to join.
Tier1 staffing suppliers have talent pools and OEM networks but are geared toward large-scale outsourcing projects, making them inefficient, more expensive, and slower for in-house hiring.


How does the platform actually work, and what results are you seeing?
Laukas        Customers bulk upload their requirements and job descriptions onto our platform. AI algorithms automatically invite the best-matching candidates, shortlist, and rank them. Once the shortlist is ready, we help schedule interviews, and finally contract the engineer through a centralized, pre-negotiated MSA (Master Service Agreement).
We typically reduce time-to-hire by 25 - 30% through faster matching, fewer unnecessary interviews, and real-time talent intelligence. Over 95% of hires are successful within the first six months.


You emphasize AI-based vetting. What data points and algorithms are used, and how do customers experience the difference? 
Laukas        Our AI vetting engine evaluates candidates across more than 150 data points, including CVs, technical analyses, interview answers, and coding test results. It benchmarks candidates against others for the same role and analyzes expected compensation levels. Our proprietary AI model has been trained on over 350,000 automotive tech support cases and is continuously updated in collaboration with multiple LLM providers. This replaces manual CV screening and rate negotiation, ensuring data-driven, high-quality hiring.


How do you track changing skill needs in the fast-evolving SDV era? 
Laukas        We run a backend sourcing engine that continuously analyzes hundreds of incoming requirements on our platform. This allows us to identify in-demand roles and adjust talent acquisition marketing accordingly. We also attract engineers from adjacent industries with transferable skills, giving OEMs access to talent pools they couldn’t reach before.


Engineers care about fair pay, project type, and stability. How do you address these needs? 
Laukas        Being a Hashlist engineer means becoming part of the world’s largest automotive-focused engineering community. They gain access to top-tier projects and compensation with a single profile, and can flexibly control their availability status to match opportunities with their personal timing.


OEMs and Tier1s, on the other hand, are sensitive to cost, quality, speed, and reliability. How do you meet these demands? 
Laukas        Customers receive complimentary access to our Talent Intelligence Map. By inputting role criteria, country, and experience level, they instantly see average costs. Most of the hiring process is automated and accessible online, with full visibility across each step to ensure predictable, trustworthy results. While over 95% of our customers are satisfied within the first six months, we also provide free-replacement guarantees if needed, ensuring rapid resolution in close cooperation with the customer.




Laukas, CCO, posing at AEK.


 


You work with over 30 OEMs and 600 engineering service providers. Can you share some flagship cases? 
Laukas        Hashlist is growing rapidly in the automotive sector, already partnering with major global OEMs. Since 2023, we’ve been working with Stellantis; since 2024, Toyota and Continental; and from 2025, Tata Technologies. Several additional confidential partnerships are also in progress.


What achievements and financial milestones have you reached so far? What’s next?  
Laukas        We’ve raised over €1 million from industry veterans to date, and we expect to hit multi-million-euro revenues with our first profitable year in 2025. Next year, we’ll raise a Series A to further expand in automotive, integrate deeper with customer systems, and enhance the engineer experience from sourcing to compensation.


Hashlist has also appeared at CES. What unique value do you bring to Asian markets like Korea and India, and what’s your long-term vision? 
Laukas        Korea plays a pivotal role in the automotive industry, home to global OEMs like Hyundai and Kia, and recently a leader in software strategies that Western OEMs now follow. India, meanwhile, ranks among the top three global pools of automotive software engineers, and is the clear leader in cost-efficiency. Hashlist helps OEMs and Tier1s in these markets expand westward while maintaining quality and reliability.
Automotive is a unique field - engineers often dedicate their entire careers to it. We believe they should always have easy access to the best opportunities with fair pay and stability.
Long-term, Hashlist aims to become the essential platform fully integrated with every OEM, Tier1, and developer, providing seamless access to the world’s best automotive software engineers. We look forward to continuing the conversation with AEM readers.

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