New capability brings structured, AI-driven interviews directly into Ashby’s unified hiring platform

SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ashby, the all-in-one recruiting platform, today announced the upcoming  launch of its AI Interviewer at its annual Ashby One conference. The product builds on the acquisition of Talent Llama late last year, a startup focused on AI-powered interviewing technology.

The AI Interviewer lets teams run structured, conversational screening interviews directly in Ashby, with results feeding into the same workflows they already use for scheduling, evaluation, and decision-making.

“We were reasonably skeptical of AI interviewing at first,” said Benji Encz, CEO and co-founder of Ashby. “What changed was seeing it work in our own hiring process. When it’s designed to feel natural and useful for candidates, it becomes a lot more compelling — which is why we’re building it directly into our platform.”

Ashby’s move into AI interviewing came from using it internally in mid 2025 and hearing interest from customers. Speaking to over 600 talent and recruiting professionals during the Ashby One Product Keynote, Recruiting Manager Anna Hall shared how 36% of candidates opted into the AI experience when given the choice between a recruiter screen or an AI interview on their own time.

“We started using AI interviews to give candidates we might have passed on another chance to show their strengths,” shared Hall. “That approach is already working. We’ve extended offers to three candidates who came through that path.”

Why Talent Llama

Founded by Adam Stokar and Ben Chaikin, Talent Llama has spent the past two years building AI interviewing tools grounded in real hiring workflows.

“We weren’t planning to sell the company,” said Stokar. “But after working closely with the Ashby team, it became clear this was the right place to keep building. The product quality, the pace of shipping, and the focus on real hiring workflows all lined up with our vision while enabling us to move much faster.”

The Talent Llama team has joined Ashby and is rebuilding its technology directly on Ashby’s platform, ensuring all interview data, evaluations, and candidate context live within a single system. The resulting Ashby AI Interviewer is designed as part of the platform’s broader AI strategy, focused on embedding intelligence directly into workflows rather than layering on disconnected tools.

Because the feature is built on Ashby’s unified data model, teams can:

Launch AI interviews directly within their hiring plansEvaluate candidates using structured signals and full transcriptsIntegrate interview outputs into downstream decisions and reportingMaintain a consistent candidate experience across the hiring journey

The system is designed to prioritize transparency, human oversight, and clear evaluation criteria — principles Ashby has applied across its AI features.

A broader shift in recruiting

The launch reflects a broader shift in recruiting, where teams are balancing higher application volumes with the need to maintain quality and candidate experience.

“Tools like AI interviewers are becoming more relevant for certain types of hiring, especially higher-volume roles,” said Encz. “We’re still early, but the direction is clear.”

Ashby’s AI Interviewer is currently rolling out in private beta, with broader availability planned in the coming months.

About Ashby
Ashby All-in-One enables ambitious talent teams to run a data-driven talent acquisition process with the latest innovations in AI, automation, and quality of hire measurement at their fingertips. Ashby combines your ATS, CRM & sourcing, scheduling, and analytics into a single, scalable solution with a modern UI and customizations to empower your business, from startup to enterprise.

About Ashby One
Ashby One is a one-day conference designed for Talent Acquisition leaders and RecOps professionals to gain actionable insights and build meaningful connections through keynotes, deep dives, and hands-on workshops. Attendees will have opportunities to engage directly with Ashby’s Engineering, Customer Success, and Product teams through Ashby Labs, enjoy curated meals, and connect at an evening reception.

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SOURCE Ashby, Inc.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Ridge Associates (“Blue Ridge”), a leading provider of administration and compliance solutions for employer-sponsored, tax-advantaged equity compensation and savings benefit plans, announced today that it has acquired Economic Group Pension Services (“EGPS”). The addition of EGPS represents a landmark milestone for Blue Ridge, fundamentally transforming the organization’s size and scale while broadening its service portfolio and geographic footprint to better serve plan sponsors, advisors, and channel partners.

Established in 1971, EGPS is an industry-leading retirement plan services firm that offers plan design, administration, actuarial consulting, and 3(16) fiduciary services for all types of retirement plans. Based in New York, New York, EGPS brings over 260 team members and 7,200 retirement plans with over $17 billion assets under administration to the Blue Ridge portfolio.

“This milestone acquisition brings together two highly complementary organizations with a shared commitment to delivering even greater value to the clients and partners we serve through a more comprehensive suite of capabilities, a service first culture, and unmatched technical expertise,” said Mark Agustin, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Ridge. “EGPS has built a differentiated platform with extraordinary talent, and we are thrilled to welcome Daniel and his team to the Blue Ridge family.”

Following this acquisition, the combined organization will have over 650 team members across 10 locations, serving over 17,500 plans with over 1.2 million participants and $87 billion in assets under administration across the US retirement and equity compensation benefit plan sector.

“Joining forces with Blue Ridge is the right move at the right time for EGPS, our team, and our clients,” said Daniel Liss, Chief Executive Officer of EGPS. “This partnership allows us to scale meaningfully while continuing to deliver the high level of service our clients expect. Together, we bring a broader set of capabilities and deeper expertise to create new opportunities for our people. We’re excited to partner with Mark and the Blue Ridge team as we write the next chapter of EGPS.”

Bill Yoerger, Executive Chairman for Blue Ridge added, “EGPS is precisely the kind of organization — with market-leading capabilities, exceptional culture, and a loyal client base — that accelerates our strategic vision and operating capabilities.”

For more information, please contact Mark Agustin at magustin@oneblueridge.com.

About Blue Ridge Associates

Founded in 1988, Blue Ridge is a leading provider of administration and compliance solutions for employer-sponsored tax-advantaged equity compensation and savings benefit plans, serving over 10,300 plans covering over 950,000 participants with over $69 billion in assets under management. The Company offers a full suite of tech-enabled services, including recordkeeping, administration, compliance, consulting, communication, and education for tax-advantaged employer-sponsored ESOP plans, as well as all types of qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k), 403(b), cash balance and pension plans. The Company’s integrated, best-of-breed delivery model, proprietary technology platform, and established network of strategic distribution partners, make it easy for employers to provide wealth building benefits to employees. Blue Ridge is a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.

About EGPS

Founded in 1971, Economic Group Pension Services (EGPS) is a national independent consulting firm that designs and administers cutting edge retirement plans. The company serves over 7,200 benefit plans for business owners and their employees across the country. For more information about EGPS, please visit https://egps.com.

About Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC is a middle-market private equity firm with a 42-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including Business Services, Franchising & Multi-unit, Education & Training and Engineered Products. LLCP utilizes a differentiated Structured Private Equity investment strategy, combining debt and equity capital investments in portfolio companies. LLCP believes that by investing in a combination of debt and equity securities, it offers management teams growth capital in a highly tailored, flexible investment structure that can be a more attractive alternative than traditional private equity.

LLCP’s global team of dedicated investment professionals is led by 9 partners who have worked at LLCP for an average of 20 years. Since inception, LLCP and its affiliates have managed approximately $18.5 billion of capital across nearly 20 investment funds and has invested in approximately 120 portfolio companies. LLCP currently manages $12.7 billion of assets and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

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SOURCE Blue Ridge Associates

Parivas introduces the most advanced application of additive case design within contemporary horology.

LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Los Angeles-based luxury watch company Parivas introduces a new category in horology: additive watch design. On May 18, 2026, with the launch of the Exo.1, Parivas unveils the first watch built from nothing – constructed as a single monolithic structure, engineered from an aerospace discipline, and made possible entirely through additive manufacturing. This is not a refinement of what came before. It is truly original.

A New Era in Watchmaking

The era of additive watchmaking is the first period in the craft’s history where makers are no longer designing within the limits of their tools — their tools are constrained only by their ideas. Parivas was born entirely from this new era of additive manufacturing, with co-founders Mickey Brown (CEO) and Justin Chang (COO) bringing over 30 years of combined experience in mechanical engineering and additive manufacturing. They approached the watch purely as designers and engineers — and that objectivity is precisely what made the Exo.1 possible.

Introducing the Exo.1

Named for the exoskeleton it evokes, the Exo.1 carries its innovation visibly, in its exterior. Its case is defined by an exceptionally complex structural lattice that extends without interruption across bezel, body, and lugs — a seamless, open-worked, monolithic architecture unlike anything in contemporary horology. Floating hour markers, printed with hollow cores, embed tritium tubes and hover within the lattice. The result is a watch whose core identity is not concealed within it, but made prominently visible by its very design.

Solar Dusted™ & The Monolithic Case

Two innovations define the Genesis Collection’s visual language. The Solar Dusted™ finish — a brand-new metal surface produced through a proprietary sintering process — resolves a wavelike, fingerprint-esque texture that shifts under direct sunlight, ensuring no two pieces resolve in exactly the same way. Every Exo.1 is unique. The monolithic case unifies what traditional construction separates — bezel, body, lugs, and dial features — into a single unbroken structure, eliminating the interfaces where misalignments and inconsistencies occur in conventional watchmaking and only possible through additive manufacturing.

10,000 Hours. Six Years. One Conviction.

The Exo.1 was conceived years before it could be produced at the standards Parivas required. Deep roots in the additive manufacturing industry gave the team a clear view of the technology’s trajectory and the confidence to design ahead of it. As CEO Mickey Brown states: “The Exo.1 did not adapt to the technology. The technology had to rise to meet it.” Every Parivas watch is hand-assembled in Los Angeles by the same core engineering team who designed it — a commitment that is central to the brand’s philosophy.

Technical Specifications

Powering the Exo.1 is the Parivas Caliber P1001S — a customized Swiss automatic skeleton movement built on Sellita SW300-1SA architecture, finished with rhodium plating and soleillage decoration. It is certified under the Parivas Chronometer standard, an in-house precision program developed in concert with the Horological Society of New York, built to exceed ISO 3159 international standards.

Case Specifications

Case Material: 316L SSDiameter: 42 mmThickness: 10 mmLug Width: 20 mmLug to Lug: 49 mmWeight (approx.): 107 gramsWater Resistance: 6 barCrystal: Sapphire, Anti-reflective

P1001S Specifications

Parivas ChronometerPower Reserve: 56 hoursJewels: 25Frequency: 28,800 bph (4 Hz)Shock Protection: IncablocAntimagnetism: 4,800 A/mFinishing: Rhodium plating, Soleillage decoration

Acquiring the Exo.1

Batch 01 of the Exo.1 will be limited to 30 pieces, available exclusively through a curated waitlist opening to the public on May 18, 2026, via Parivas.com. Delivery is expected in Q1 2027. Available for purchase in the U.S. only.

Waitlist Opens: May 18, 2026Batch 01: 30 PiecesRetail Price: $7,500Delivery Window: Q1 2027

Additional Information

View the full press kit here.

About Parivas

Parivas is a Los Angeles-based independent watchmaker founded on the principles of additive manufacturing and aerospace engineering. The company introduces a new category in horology — additive watch design — and is the first independent horological house to apply additive case design at this level of complexity and precision. Parivas watches are hand-assembled in Los Angeles by the same engineering team who designed them. The brand name is derived from the Latin “Pario e Pulvas,” meaning “created from dust,” a phrase that speaks directly to both the brand’s origin and process.

PRESS CONTACT

Jared Woods
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Parivas
press@parivas.com
parivas.com | @parivas_watches

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SOURCE Parivas