How we revived a former tech darling into an earned media engine for the AI hiring era

As AI rapidly reshaped software engineering, Karat had valuable proprietary data on how technical hiring was changing, but the company wasn't yet leading the broader conversation.

The opportunity wasn't simply to generate product coverage—it was to establish Karat as the authoritative source on the future of engineering talent in the Human + AI era.

The Colab built a thought leadership program centered on Karat's proprietary workforce research and executive expertise. By combining original research with executive commentary and strategic media outreach, the team positioned Karat as a leading voice on AI, technical hiring, and workforce transformation.

Rather than relying solely on product announcements, The Colab built a sustained thought leadership program around Karat's proprietary workforce data and executive expertise. The result was consistent visibility across leading technology, business and HR publications, including Business Insider, Fast Company, IT Brew, IEEE, Axios, GeekWire, Yahoo Finance, and dozens of additional outlets, positioning Karat as one of the leading voices shaping the conversation around AI's impact on engineering talent.

Key outcomes included:

• Research-Led Visibility — Turned Karat's AI Workforce Transformation Report into a repeatable media asset, generating coverage across technology, business, HR, and financial publications.
• Executive Authority — Positioned founder Mo Bhende as a trusted expert on AI, technical hiring, and workforce transformation through interviews, contributed content, and rapid-response commentary.
• Cross-Market Reach — Expanded Karat's narrative beyond recruiting publications with coverage spanning business, technology, HR, and developer media.