UK- And UAE-Based TERN Group Wraps Up US$24 Million Series A
Inc. Arabia spoke to TERN Group founder and CEO Avinav Nigam about the new funding, which brings the total investment the company has raised to $33 million, following a seed round last year.
TERN Group, a UK- and UAE-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered healthcare talent mobility platform, has closed a US$24 million Series A funding round to strengthen its operations in the Gulf and to expand in Europe. The new funding brings the total investment the company has secured to $33 million, following a seed round last year.
The investment was led by London-based venture capital firm Notion Capital, with participation from Dubai-based early-stage investor EQ2 Ventures, New York-headquartered global venture capital (VC) firm RTP Global, London-based seed-stage investor LocalGlobe, London- and Bengaluru-based early-stage venture firm Leo Capital, New York-based global VC fund Presight Capital, and Tom Stafford, co-founder of Hong Kong- and London-based investment firm DST Global.
Founded in the UAE in 2023, TERN provides an HR technology solution to train, certify, and deploy healthcare professionals from 13 countries into markets facing high demand. In an interview with Inc. Arabia, Avinav Nigam, founder and CEO of TERN, noted that investors who contributed to his company's latest round saw the unique value that it is bringing to the market. “Investors saw that TERN isn’t another staffing company—it is workforce infrastructure," he said. "We’ve built the world’s first clinical AI workforce platform that reduces hiring timelines from 6–12 months to under 10 weeks, delivers 3x savings, and improves productivity by 15–20 percent. That proof of impact, combined with the trust of 100+ global healthcare clients, is what gave them conviction.”
Nigam also pointed out that the value of the funding round extends well beyond the capital. “Our backers include people who’ve scaled global tech platforms, policymakers who’ve shaped national health systems, and operators who know compliance and regulation inside out," he explained. "Their guidance will be invaluable as we expand across the GCC and Europe, because this is not just about growth—it’s about building systems that last.”
TERN already works with more than 100 global healthcare providers, including hospital groups in the GCC. Thousands of nurses and doctors have been placed through the platform, with regional pilots showing shorter hiring times and higher retention compared to industry averages. More than 650,000 professionals are currently registered on TERN’s platform for career development, training, and job access.
The new investment shall support the growth of TERN’s AI platform, training and compliance infrastructure, and integrations with healthcare systems in the GCC, Europe, and the UK. As the demand for healthcare workers intensifies in the coming years, particularly in markets like the UAE, where healthcare spending is projected to exceed $50 billion by 2029, Nigam believes tackling the global shortage requires a fundamental shift in how healthcare systems think about recruitment and training.
“The shortage isn’t just a talent problem, it’s an infrastructure problem," Nigam said. "Nurses and doctors exist, but the systems moving them across borders are slow, fragmented, and costly. To fix this, healthcare systems need to treat workforce delivery like they treat clinical infrastructure—predictable, compliant, and scalable. That means integrating recruitment, credentialing, training, mobility, and management into one seamless system.”
According to Nigam, AI will play a central role in this transformation, noting that it can accelerate the process for healthcare workers and providers. “It can match candidates faster, verify compliance in real time, adapt language training, and even predict clinical fit," he said. "But AI alone isn’t enough; it has to be paired with human support for training, relocation, and integration. That’s how we protect dignity while delivering efficiency.” TERN’s model thus combines automated tools—including resume parsing, compliance tracking, and AI-powered interviews—with human support for training, relocation, and cultural integration. Through this approach, the company aims to build a workforce operating system to help governments, hospitals, and care providers scale steadily.
As TERN pushes into new markets, Nigam acknowledged how vastly different healthcare ecosystems are across regions, with each facing unique challenges. “Europe and the GCC are both in urgent need of healthcare talent, but the context is different," he explained. "Europe’s challenge is demographic—an aging population and highly regulated systems. The GCC’s challenge is infrastructure—new hospitals and clinics are being built faster than staff can be sourced. In Europe, compliance comes first; in the GCC, speed and scale are critical. Our platform is built to flex across both.”
Currently, TERN is concentrating on Germany and the UK in Europe, while deepening its presence in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. “We are [also] bullish on the Japan market, given socioeconomic factors are very aligned to the problems we set out to solve," Nigam added. "The USA is obviously on our radar for 2026 and beyond." In talking about TERN’s growth, Nigam also shared the principles that guide the company—principles that double as useful lessons for founders in the healthcare space. “Don’t build for the quick win, build for the system," he said. "Healthcare is too critical, too human, and too regulated for shortcuts. If you want to last, your solution has to serve patients, employers, and professionals—all at once. At TERN, we remind ourselves that every data point is a person: a nurse starting a new life, a ward staying open, a family finding stability. If you don’t build with that mindset, you might grow fast, but you won’t last.”
Pictured in the lead image is TERN Group founder and CEO Avinav Nigam. Image courtesy TERN Group.
