DirectShifts

DirectShifts is a healthcare workforce marketplace that connects clinicians — physicians, advanced practice providers, and other medical professionals — directly with hospitals, health systems, and digital health companies for both permanent placement and flexible staffing, cutting out the layers of traditional staffing agency intermediaries. Founded in 2017 by Sai Kumar Thumuluru and built by a team with clinical and engineering backgrounds, the company's platform lets healthcare employers post roles and search a vetted pool of licensed clinicians, while giving clinicians a more transparent, direct path to their next role than conventional locum tenens or staffing-agency channels typically offer. DirectShifts has expanded beyond one-off staffing into broader healthcare talent infrastructure, including sourcing and credentialing support for health systems building out clinical teams, and has published research and commentary on healthcare labor market dynamics such as hospital staffing budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is headquartered in New York City and went through Y Combinator before raising subsequent institutional capital. In November 2022, DirectShifts announced a strategic investment from Serent Capital, a growth equity firm focused on healthcare technology, to support expansion into new markets and further product development; DirectShifts' investor base also includes Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital, and Ying Fund. The company has positioned itself as addressing the acute clinician shortage facing US hospitals by making direct-hire and flexible staffing meaningfully faster and cheaper than the legacy staffing-agency model, a need that intensified industry-wide following pandemic-driven strain on the healthcare workforce.