Riviera Partners, the Insight Partners-backed executive search firm known for placing technology leaders at companies including Uber, Snowflake, Figma, and Discord, has announced the acquisition of Lateral Labs, a recruiting firm that specializes in hiring for artificial intelligence startups. The deal brings Lateral Labs' client roster—which includes Cursor, ElevenLabs, Runway, Scale AI, and Luma Labs—under the umbrella of one of the largest tech-focused search firms in the industry.
Founded in 2024 by Rob Infantino, a former recruiter at OpenAI and Amazon Web Services, Lateral Labs offers embedded, retained, and contingent search services for machine learning and AI research roles. The firm positions itself as a specialist that understands the technical profiles AI companies need, from first technical hires through IPO. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The acquisition is part of a broader pattern in executive search. Riviera, established in 2002 and responsible for thousands of leadership placements over more than two decades, has been on an acquisition streak. The firm previously acquired Build Talent, Board and Technology, and Arete Partners to expand its capabilities across venture-backed and private equity-backed companies. This latest move signals a strategic bet on the AI talent market, which has become one of the most competitive arenas in the tech industry.
Kyle Langworthy, a Riviera executive, said in the announcement that “as few as two percent of companies are organizationally ready to execute with AI.” That figure is lower than other industry estimates, which put full AI readiness at roughly one-third of organizations, according to surveys from workforce firms tracking the AI hiring landscape. ManpowerGroup’s 2026 data found 72 percent of employers globally are struggling to fill open roles, with AI and machine learning among the hardest-hit categories.
Infantino said Lateral Labs was built to support AI companies with hiring “from its first technical hire through IPO.” The firm’s client list underscores how concentrated the AI talent market has become. Cursor, the AI coding tool, was in talks to raise $2 billion at a valuation above $50 billion earlier this year, and ElevenLabs raised $500 million at an $11 billion valuation in February. These are the companies fighting hardest for AI researchers, and Lateral Labs has been placing candidates inside them.
The deal reflects how the AI talent war has escalated beyond individual hires into an infrastructure-level competition. When Meta spent a reported $1.5 billion on a single engineer from Thinking Machines Lab, and OpenAI acknowledged offering signing bonuses of up to $100 million, the message to recruiting firms was clear: the companies writing the checks need better pipelines for finding the people who cash them.
Riviera’s own research supports this. Its AI Hiring Blueprint 2026 report, based on hundreds of executive searches, found that companies want AI leaders who can work across product, finance, and operations while communicating with boards and building teams that last. The supply of candidates with that combination remains thin. According to Second Talent’s 2026 analysis, there are roughly 1.6 million open AI positions globally against only 518,000 qualified candidates. Over 90 percent of global enterprises are projected to face critical skills shortages by the end of the year.
The acquisition also puts Riviera in closer competition with a new class of AI-native recruiting startups. Dex, a London-based AI talent agent that counts ElevenLabs among its clients, raised a $5 million seed round in April and uses conversational AI to build detailed candidate profiles rather than traditional search methods. Riviera is betting that the old model still works if it moves faster. The firm uses a proprietary platform with machine learning to score and predict candidate fit, but its core business remains relationship-driven executive search. Adding Lateral Labs gives it a direct line into the AI startup ecosystem where many of the most competitive hires are happening.
Riviera’s acquisition of Lateral Labs comes at a time when AI talent is the most sought-after resource in technology. The demand for machine learning engineers, AI researchers, and technical leaders has skyrocketed since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, sparking a wave of investment and competition. Established tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta are locked in a battle with well-funded startups for a limited pool of experts. This has driven up compensation packages—sometimes including seven-figure signing bonuses and stock options worth millions—and forced companies to rethink their hiring strategies.
Lateral Labs’ specialization gives Riviera an edge in sourcing candidates who are not only technically proficient but also culturally aligned with the fast-paced, research-driven environment of AI startups. Infantino’s background at OpenAI and AWS provides the firm with deep networks in the AI community, enabling it to identify talent that might not be actively searching for new opportunities. This passive candidate pool is often the most valuable, as top AI professionals are rarely desperate for jobs.
The acquisition also highlights the consolidation trend in the executive search industry. Larger firms like Riviera are snapping up boutique recruiters to gain specialized expertise and access to niche networks. For Lateral Labs, joining Riviera provides resources and scale that allow it to serve larger clients and expand its reach. The combined entity can now offer end-to-end talent solutions, from early-stage startup hires to C-suite placements at public companies.
Beyond the immediate business implications, the deal underscores the strategic importance of AI talent in shaping the future of technology. As companies race to integrate AI into their products and operations, the ability to attract and retain top talent becomes a competitive advantage. Riviera’s investment in Lateral Labs is a bet that the firms placing AI leaders will themselves need to specialize, consolidate, and move at the same speed as the companies they serve.
In the broader context, the acquisition reflects the maturation of the AI industry. What began as a niche field dominated by academics and a handful of tech giants has become a central pillar of the global economy. The talent war is not just about hiring—it is about building the infrastructure for the next generation of innovation. Recruiting firms like Riviera and Lateral Labs are the gatekeepers of that infrastructure, connecting companies with the humans who will design the algorithms, train the models, and deploy the systems that define the AI era.
While the financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic value of the deal is clear. Riviera gains immediate credibility and access in the AI startup ecosystem, while Lateral Labs benefits from Riviera’s established brand, resources, and client base. The acquisition is likely to be followed by further consolidation as other search firms seek to build AI capabilities. For now, Riviera Partners is positioning itself at the center of the AI talent market, betting that the old model of relationship-driven executive search, augmented by data and specialization, will prevail in a world increasingly dominated by algorithms.