Colare Raises $2.5M Pre-seed

Colare, a San Francisco-based startup, has launched publicly with $2.5 million in pre-seed funding. The company provides a hiring platform that assesses hardware engineers through simulations of real-world technical work, helping firms in sectors like aerospace, defense, and manufacturing evaluate candidates on practical application rather than just résumés.

Investors

Participants in this round include Afore Capital, Garage Capital, and Acadian Ventures.

Colare Use of Funds

Colare plans to use the new capital to scale its hiring platform, which helps companies in industries with complex physical engineering requirements streamline their recruitment processes and reduce the time senior engineers spend on candidate screening.

About Colare

Founded by co-CEOs Esther Thomas and Nain Abdi, Colare is a software company that provides an assessment-based hiring platform. The product maps job descriptions to engineering scenarios, such as printed circuit board design and thermal analysis, allowing employers to collect evidence of a candidate's practical ability before conducting intensive interviews.

Funding Details

Company Website: https://colare.com

Company: Colare
Raised: $2.5M
Round: Pre-seed
Funding Date: October 26, 2026
Additional Investors: Afore Capital, Garage Capital, Acadian Ventures
Software Category: HR Tech and Recruiting Software
Source: https://www.unite.ai/colare-raises-2-5m-hardware-engineering-hiring-simulations/