From startup to prominence: Wheebox rewriting talent assessment with AI

Wheebox's assessments leverage extensive datasets to identify skills and traits crucial for success, while also ensuring a secure AI-driven evaluation system

In 2011, two ambitious minds, Nirmal Singh and Pawan Kumar, decided to shake up the talent assessment scene. Backed by angel investment, the duo started Wheebox, a company that later went on to rewrite the future of talent evaluation.

In 2012, IBM Smart Cloud recognised Wheebox and supported the startup through its Global Entrepreneurship Program. In the years that followed, Wheebox entered into several strategic partnerships and collaborations. It garnered investments from private equity firm Lumis Partners and human capital management platform PeopleStrong who believed in the company’s vision.

Fast forward to 2016, it’s “not just a promising startup anymore but the cool kids at the party everyone wanted to hang out with,” according to the company. With PeopleStrong supporting its growth, Wheebox bagged its first million-dollar customer around this time.

By 2017 Wheebox became a wholly-owned subsidiary of PeopleStrong, with Multiples Alternate Asset Management Funds giving it a nod of approval. In the same year, the company entered into the Remote Proctored Tests, powered by Microsoft Azure Cloud, which according to Singh, “was shaking up the status quo!”

Expansion highlights

During the Covid-induced pandemic in 2020, Wheebox onboarded 100 new clients in a single year. In the next two years, Wheebox hit newer milestones – from serving their 1000th customer to doubling its workforce and annual revenue. Wheebox in India is present across Gurugram, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, with over 200 employees including its Research and Operations team. Wheebox also hosts over 50 off-roll staff across India for customer support. It services a total of 417 clients across industries.

Finally, it got the golden ticket in 2023: It was acquired by the world’s largest not-for-profit assessment company ETS (owners of GRE, TOEFL, TOEIC). Around that time, it launched ‘Global Employability Test’, originally known as the ‘Wheebox Employability Test’.  

When it came to AI integration, Wheebox innovated with exam security tools. Its AI-powered assessments transformed talent evaluation and hiring solutions for a range of sectors like the government, colleges, universities and large corporates and multinationals.

Innovations with AI

“By analysing vast datasets, these assessments go beyond traditional skillsets, pinpointing the specific skills and personality traits that truly correlate with success in various roles within educational testing and assessment platforms offerings. Wheebox products range from strategic decision-making, product vision, and navigation of the ever-evolving landscape of educational testing and assessment platforms. AI creates a secure system where it can assess technical skills, communication styles that resonate with a remote workforce, and the capacity to translate complex technical concepts into user-friendly interfaces,” said Singh.

A data-driven approach, integrated with traditional psychometric tools, allows educational testing and assessment platforms like Wheebox to innovate and achieve customer success.

“Taking bold steps and embracing new measures has always been a hallmark of the brand’s way of working. This commitment to innovation ensures we will continue to push the boundaries of global assessments and tests when it comes to remote test solutions and assessment-driven platforms,” said Singh.