Based in Japan, AIKO Corp is on a mission to rethink cybersecurity from the ground up. As the #1 startup focused on autonomous, blackbox penetration testing, they’re creating the world’s first AI purpose-built for offensive security - also known as ethical hacking. With 90+ clients and a growing research lab, the demand for highly technical talent is only increasing.
But sourcing the kind of people who can push the boundaries of AI and security? That’s not something you do with a standard job post.
From Twitter Threads to Scalable Sourcing
For most of their early team, AIKO relied on personal networks, referrals, and deep dives into niche Twitter communities to find hidden technical talent. It worked - but it didn’t scale.
“We were looking for very specific skill sets. People who might not even have a job title that matched what we needed. Twitter, referrals, and Notion tracking just couldn’t keep up.” Saumya Lakshman, Operations Manager at AIKOCorp
They needed a more systematic way to find technical profiles, especially researchers and engineers who contribute actively to open-source code - but weren’t showing up on traditional platforms. After trying various tools with no results, they turned to Talentium.
“The most exciting talent doesn’t always have a traditional CV, and often isn’t active on mainstream platforms. That’s exactly who we want to surface - people with practical skills, not just the right job title.” Sebastian Hjärne, CEO at Talentium
A GitHub-First Sourcing Solution - Built in Days
When AIKO asked if they could filter candidates based on their GitHub projects, the Talentium team didn’t just say yes - they built the solution in a few days.
“We were seriously impressed. Talentium shipped a custom GitHub search workflow in under a week. That’s how a startup should run!”
With this new capability, AIKO could easily search GitHub contributors by skills, filter by activity, and uncover highly relevant profiles - without needing to manually comb through repositories one by one.
“It used to be incredibly tedious. Now I just open Talentium and get a list of technical people who actually match what we’re looking for.”
High Relevance, High Response Rates
The results from AIKO’s sourcing efforts with Talentium have been strong from the start. For one key technical role, they received a 40% response rate from candidates - well above industry norms.
☑ The GitHub-based filters helped surface contributors with the exact technical backgrounds AIKO needed.
☑ Candidates were far more responsive than on other platforms - no ghost profiles.
☑ Every profile felt fresh, with new leads appearing regularly thanks to Talentium’s 24/7 agent.
“The quality and accuracy are really high. I’ve worked in sourcing for years, and this is the fastest way I’ve found to get to the right kind of people.”
Built for Startups, Backed by Speed
In just a few months, the platform has already saved them hours of manual work and surfaced profiles they wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. As their team continues to grow, they plan to keep Talentium in their sourcing stack - and recommend it especially to early-stage startups.
“If you’re a startup and you care about time and quality, Talentium is a no-brainer.”
