S15E6: Building an AI-Native HR System with Sergi Bastardas, Co-Founder and CEO of Orbio AI
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Sergi Bastardas , co-founder and CEO of Orbio AI , a platform using autonomous agents to coordinate the employee journey for frontline workforces. Sergi traces his path from a small town near Barcelona to joining Amazon Spain in its earliest days, and building a global supply-chain business. He shares how a family history of entrepreneurship, a curiosity about the wider world, and Amazon’s culture of operational excellence shaped the way he builds companies. He explains why HR is fundamentally a system of conversations and unstructured data and why Orbio was designed as an agent-native product rather than an AI add-on. From screening and scheduling to onboarding, retention, and exit interviews, Orbio’s agents work across voice, WhatsApp, text, and Teams while keeping people in control of employment decisions. In this conversation, Sergi breaks down the company’s expansion across languages and markets, what incumbent HR platforms would need to rebuild to become truly agent-native, and why he believes AI will empower frontline workers rather than simply replace them. He also reflects on fundraising, building a global company from Europe, balancing marriage with constant travel, and the coach who changed how he experiences the founder journey. Learn more about Sergi Bastardas on LinkedIn and explore Orbio AI . (03:52) Where Sergi grew up and how it shaped his worldview (06:48) Did Sergi always think he would become a founder? (08:13) Joining Amazon Spain in its earliest days (11:18) From Amazon and supply chains to the frontline workforce problem (13:04) Choosing experienced co-founders for Orbio (15:52) What AI-native HR means—and why agents are not a bolt-on (19:03) A day in the life of an Orbio agent (26:53) Launching first in Spanish and adapting voice agents across markets (28:07) Orbio’s Series A and the first investors who said yes (30:07) Building a global company from Europe (33:02) AI adoption across different countries and cultures (35:47) Voice infrastructure, LiveKit alternatives, and local-language models (37:29) Why incumbent HR platforms cannot easily replicate Orbio (40:07) The future of work with people, agents, and robotics (42:36) What’s next for Sergi personally (43:28) A woman who profoundly shaped Sergi’s life and career For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter . Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Check out our guide to podcasting here ! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by: Rippling , Gradial , Ashurst Perkins Coie WX Productions




