Funding profile · Healthcare staffing
DirectShifts
One confirmed institutional investment, one undisclosed size, and a company claimed total that no filing supports. Here is what the record shows about the money behind DirectShifts, and what it does not.
Data as of September 25, 2026. Company-reported figures are labeled.
Rounds at a glance
| When | Round | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 onward | Y Combinator and early backers | Not disclosed | Y Combinator, Medstartr Ventures, Soma Capital, Pioneer Fund, Ying Fund and others named on the company site and by CB Insights | Company-stated |
| Nov 2, 2022 | Strategic growth investment | Not disclosed | Serent Capital, a growth equity firm; four new board seats | Wire release |
| Undated, archived 2024 | Cumulative total claimed by the company | “More than $45 million” | Serent Capital, Y Combinator, Soma Capital named | Company-stated |
| As of late 2025 | Cumulative total tracked independently | $150,000 | Serent Capital, Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital, Ying Fund and 5 more, per CB Insights | Independent tracker |
What the filings show
No SEC Form D was found for this profile under either the brand name DirectShifts or the company’s registered legal name, FirstLocum Inc. The searches covered EDGAR’s company name lookup and general web searches for the legal name alongside “Form D” and “CIK.” A Form D is required within 15 days of a first sale under most Regulation D exemptions, so a company that raised money from named institutional investors like Serent Capital, without one on file, is either exempt for some other reason, filed under a name not found here, or has not yet triggered the filing requirement in a way this research could locate. This page cannot rule any of those out, and it does not treat the absence of a Form D as proof that no money changed hands. It treats it as a gap.
Reading the record
- Two very different funding totals, neither backed by a filing.A company-supplied listing on the recruiting site Cutshort states DirectShifts “raised more than $45 million” from Serent Capital, Y Combinator and Soma Capital. CB Insights, an independent data and analytics firm, separately tracks the company’s total raised at $150,000 as of its most recent snapshot. A gap of that size, roughly 300 times, is not a rounding difference. It suggests either that most of DirectShifts’ capital moved through vehicles CB Insights does not track, or that the $45 million figure is not accurate as stated.
- The one confirmed round has no confirmed size.Serent Capital’s November 2022 investment is documented in a wire service release naming the investor, the new board members and the company’s own quotes. The dollar amount was not disclosed there or anywhere else found in this research.
- The board tells you who actually has a seat.The 2022 release names four new directors: Kevin Frick and John Caselli of Serent Capital, plus two independent additions, Mike Metzger, former CEO of Payscale and Raintree Systems, and Anita Pramoda, former CFO of Epic EMR Systems. That is a governance structure consistent with a real institutional check, whatever its size.
- A staffing company measures itself in payroll processed, not just funding raised.DirectShifts’ own year end benchmark reports $21.7 million in approved clinician payroll processed in 2025 and $83 million cumulative since 2022. Those numbers describe money moving through the marketplace to contractors and employees, not equity capital raised by the company, and should not be confused with a funding total.
- A labor event with no funding explanation attached.New York State’s WARN database shows seven layoff notices filed under FirstLocum Inc. d/b/a DirectShifts between December 31, 2023 and January 2, 2024, covering 560 workers. No Form D, press release or funding announcement from that period was found that would explain whether this coincided with a cash event. WARN filings from a staffing company frequently mark the end of a client assignment rather than a change in the company’s own headcount, but this research found no statement from DirectShifts clarifying which applies here.
Commercial signals
| Signal | Detail | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerator | Listed as a Y Combinator company; specific batch not stated in sources found. | Public record |
| Institutional investment | Serent Capital, growth equity, Nov 2022, amount undisclosed, 4 new board seats. | Wire release |
| 2025 platform volume | $21.7 million in approved clinician payroll processed in 2025; $83 million cumulative since 2022; 54.1% shift fill rate. | Company-stated |
| Workforce event | 7 WARN notices, 560 workers, filed Dec 31, 2023 to Jan 2, 2024, New York and Brooklyn. | Public record |
| Named customers | Case studies describe an unnamed “leading health services company” and “large health system.” No named client found. | Not found |
What to watch
- Any Form D filed under DirectShifts, FirstLocum Inc., or a newly disclosed entity name.
- Confirmation, from either the company or an investor, of the Serent Capital round’s actual size.
- Whether the $45 million cumulative claim is ever reconciled with CB Insights’ $150,000 tracked figure.
- A named hospital, health system or telehealth customer replacing the anonymized case studies.
The DirectShifts story on Healthcare DiscoveryHealthcare Discovery
Related companies
Sources
- Wire releaseDirectShifts Secures Investment from Experienced Healthcare Tech Investor, Serent Capital
- IndependentDirectShifts company profile, funding total $150K, investor list
- CompanyDirectShifts company listing, “raised more than $45 million” claim
- CompanyDirectShifts Benchmark: Healthcare Hiring Insights, 2025 metrics
- Public recordFirstlocum Inc. d/b/a DirectShifts, 7 WARN layoff notices, 560 workers
- Public recordFirstLocum LLC dba DirectShifts, WARN notices 2023-0173 through 2023-0176
- Public recordDirectShifts Crunchbase organization profile, legal name FirstLocum Inc.
- IndependentDirectShifts: Workforce platform to recruit, license, credential and manage clinicians
Compiled from SEC EDGAR searches, New York State labor records and published reports as of September 25, 2026. No Form D notice was located for this company under the names searched. Amounts described as company-reported have not been independently verified. Healthcare Venture Capital Fund holds no position in DirectShifts. This page is not an offer to sell or a recommendation to buy any security.