Handshake

Introducing Handshake AI—the most ambitious chapter in our story. We leverage the scale of the largest early career network to source, train, and manage domain experts who test and challenge frontier models to failure for the top AI labs.

📣 Second speaker announcement for Acquired Unplugged: Garrett Lord, co-founder and CEO of Handshake, will join Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal for a live conversation on building Handshake into the career network for the AI economy. Space is limited. Register here: luma.com/acq-workos

I asked @GarrettLord how @joinHandshake came out of nowhere to become a top data labeling partner to the AI labs: "We started to see incredible demand for individuals with PhDs and Master's on the Handshake platform. People studying to be lawyers, doctors, consultants, and getting their Master's in Tax Accounting. All the data labeling companies were trying to recruit them. We saw this, and were also hearing from those same people that it was a frustrating experience. They weren't getting paid on time. They weren't getting trained properly. And they weren't being treated as experts in their domain. We realized we had an opportunity to go direct. And we could then pass along the customer acquisition costs as savings to the AI labs, leapfrogging others in the space. Human AI data labeling is a very operationally intensive business. The only durable advantage in this space is access to an audience. Otherwise, it's a commoditized set of companies competing with each other for margin. If you can build loyalty, improve retention, and treat these people the way they expect to be treated, you can pass along many benefits to the labs. The three things they care a bout is data quality, speed, and volume. And you can do this by building a much better product experience." From our conversation published in July, 2025. Full episode linked in the replies.

@amodhakal Hello! Thanks so much for sharing this feedback. Your privacy is our top priority, so please reach out to us directly at support.joinhandshake.com to submit a ticket, so we can better assist you with this request. Thanks!

@joinHandshake can you add a feature where you can bulk select and delete documents like resumes? The current process is too annoying where you have to click edit and then delete for each document.

Upcoming grads are 2x as likely to put AI skills on their resume as they were 4 years ago. But employers aren’t hiring for keywords alone; they’re hiring people who can actually apply them. We’re working with @OpenAI on the Codex Creator Challenge to give students hands-on access to hone their skills, apply them, and build. Submissions are already rolling in. Get started 👉 bit.ly/4lUHM1x

The week before ICLR, we're hosting a tight-knit AI research symposium in SF on the future of economically valuable AI agents w/ @TheAndiPenguin (co-founder, humans&) @patrick_tammer (AI strategy/operations lead, Google), Linda Lu (head of strategic initiatives, Berkeley RDI)

Introducing the Handshake x @OpenAI Codex Creator Challenge. Build real projects with AI. Showcase your work. Get seen by employers like @GEICO, @LOrealParisUSA, @ZSAssociates, and @KpffNY. From learning AI → building with it. Get started: bit.ly/4lUHM1x

@righteous_pips Hi @righteous_pips - we hope to be expanding internationally soon. Stay tuned for updates!

Day 1 of asking @joinHandshake why Nigerians are not allowed on their platform. 🇳🇬 Thread 🧵

“The journey from a student-focused platform to leading in AI career tools shows how much the world of work is changing and Handshake is at the center.” 🚀 Full feature on how it all started in @michigantech Magazine. mtu.edu/magazine/2026/…

@JAaronAnderson Hello! We’d like to look further into this for you. Please submit a ticket here: Submit a request – Handshake Help Center (support.joinhandshake.com/hc/en-us/reque…). We look forward to assisting you!

hey @joinHandshake your filters simply do not work ... Maybe I can take a crack at programming for them ?

Love that @mbdailyshow remembered using Handshake in college. So did millions of other people. The internet has been scraped. What moves models now is signal that has to be generated by real people in real time. How humans actually talk. How experts actually reason. How professionals actually evaluate work. That's why we're paying improv performers $74/hr. And paying doctors, nuclear technicians, farm supervisors, and accountants A LOT more than that. The models need what only people can generate.

@hollys_re Hi Holly, thanks for bringing this to our attention. Handshake does not post jobs on Craigslist. The listing you saw is a scam. If you have any more questions, you can contact us directly via our Help Center: support.joinhandshake.com/hc/en-us.

@joinHandshake hey I’m pretty sure there’s a scam going all around Craigslist nationwide posing as you - are you aware of this or can you confirm if you are recruiting this way?

@scottdwitt Hi Scott, In order to further assist you, can you please visit support.joinhandshake.com and open a new ticket with the Handshake Digital Assistant at the bottom right corner.  It should look like a chat bubble and you can request to speak with an agent directly!

@joinHandshake Your Support button isn't working. And there are Issues that need your attention. (I'm available by DM)

Someone on our subreddit just posted this. Paid off their student loans. $235K earned on HAI since July. Now they want to send their mom to Italy and start a college fund for their nephew. This is the part of building an AI company that never makes the headlines.

Victoria Moore, Handshake AI Specialist and Red Team Strategic Projects Lead, is focused on one core question: how do we build AI that’s safe for the next generation? Safety isn’t abstract for Victoria. As a parent, knowing her children will grow up in a world shaped by AI makes the impact of her work deeply personal. That perspective carries into her role as an AI red teamer, where she works hands-on with models before release to surface risks and reinforce protections. At Handshake AI, safety isn’t an afterthought. It’s foundational to how we train, evaluate, and improve large language models. 🎥 Hear more from Victoria below. Learn more & apply: joinhandshake.com/ai

Brian Katona, a Handshake AI Senior Specialist and Emmy-winning composer, shares why he recommends working with Handshake AI. He sees AI as a transformative technology and is helping train systems to be more ethical, efficient, and useful so people can focus on higher-value thinking and creativity. We are proud to work with fellows like Brian and are always looking for experts across disciplines who want to help shape what comes next in AI. Learn more & apply: joinhandshake.com/ai

@Vallabh_Klk Hi @Vallabh_Klk - Handshake AI is U.S. only at the moment at the moment. We hope to be expanding soon!

How can Login with my Indian phone number @joinHandshake

Each year the #UpfrontSummit brings together over 1,000 investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders to showcase the best of innovation, technology and creativity. This year we were proud to see some of our founders grace the stage to share what they've learned on their journeys: - @JamieSiminoff, founder of @ring, reflected on grit, near-death moments, selling to Amazon, and why AI has made Ring feel like a startup again. – @hametwatt , founder of Feno, joined the conversation on building enduring companies in moments of technological shift. – And @GarrettLord, founder of @joinHandshake, shared his 12-year building journey, giving a shoutout to True partner @tonidotorg as first to believe in him when he was still sleeping in college parking lots trying to close deals. These are the stories that matter: conviction, resilience, reinvention. Proud to back founders building through cycles — and building for the long term. #UpfrontSummit2026 #FounderLed #FrontierTech #AIBuilders #AIEntrepreneurs #GenZ

@VeganVg25901 Hi @VeganVg25901 - Handshake AI is only available in the U.S. for now. We hope to be expanding soon!

@joinHandshake Is Kenya eligible for participating

Lawrence Berg joined Handshake AI near the end of completing his PhD, at a moment when a tumultuous job market made next steps feel unclear. What he discovered excited him: an opportunity to fulfill both a personal curiosity around AI and get credentials at the same time. “Previously, I had never used a single AI model…I started with Handshake, and now, it would be routine for me to be able to [use AI] in my future job...I feel empowered by my time at Handshake to make that leap without worrying about the lack of knowledge. Learn more: joinhandshake.com/fellowship-pro…

@SULOIANS @join_taro Hi @SULOIANS - Handshake AI is U.S. only at the moment. Hopefully expanding soon!

@joinHandshake @join_taro Im in Australia can you hire me?

Today, Handshake is acquiring @join_taro and launching the Software Engineer Talent Network. Taro has built one of the most respected communities in software engineering. This acquisition brings 175k+ engineers into Handshake AI’s growing platform for frontier model development. 🎥 Hear from Taro CEO and co-founder @rpandey1234 on what this means.