Billionaire-Backed AI Startup Worker.ai Officially Launches With Raleigh Hiring Push
RALEIGH, November 12 (Hypepotamus) - Worker.ai, a Raleigh-based startup building an AI operating system for small businesses, is launching publicly with an acquisition announcement as well backing from billionaire tech founder Ratmir Timashev.
Its pitch is to help owners grow their businesses without becoming the bottleneck for every task and decision.
Alongside its launch, Worker announced it has acquired DeltaGen, a B2B AI startup that is backed by Techstars, Forward Venture Capital, and the NC Tweener Fund. DeltaGen and Worker.ai joined forces this summer CEO and co-founder John Roberts told Hypepotamus, and then spent the last several months “building the platform and working with early customers.”
DeltaGen (under the leadership of CEO Rene Bystron) was based in Seattle before relocating to San Francisco earlier in the year, according to GeekWire.
Building To Give Small Businesses Their Lives & Time Back
Worker brings a company’s plans, responsibilities, key numbers, and processes into one platform. Employees and AI workers use that shared information to keep work moving, with AI handling recurring tasks such as preparing updates and following up on commitments. Business decisions remain with people, according to the company.
Initially, Worker is targeting service businesses and manufacturers with 10 to 250 employees, including family-owned companies. One early customer is CityPlat, a Raleigh-based boutique commercial real estate firm.
The problem Worker.ai is solving is personal to Roberts, who previously held roles at Raleigh’s Digital.ai including chief of staff and vice president of sales.
Maija Ehlinger
“My dad owned an independent pharmacy, so I grew up seeing how much of your life goes into running a small business. Then I experienced it myself when I started my first software company in 2012. Every new customer brought more opportunity, but also more chaos,” he told Hypepotamus. “Putting an operating system in place helped us grow without relying on everyone working harder. Later, in private equity, I saw what that same structure could do with a team of operators behind it.”
Bystron saw a similar problem through his father’s work in construction.
“The internet was supposed to make running a business easier. For him, it added more demands to a day that was already full. AI will have failed people like my dad if all it does is give them more work to keep up with,” Bystron added in a statement. “We’re building Worker so they can grow a business and still come home with time and energy for the people they love.”
Worker is an effort to make that structure available to smaller teams without requiring a change in ownership and endless amounts of extra time.
“You shouldn’t have to sell your company to get your life back,” Roberts added.
Maija Ehlinger
Getting Billionaire Backing
Ratmire Timashev made his name and his money as the Cofounder & CEO of Veeam Software, an enterprise software and cloud infrastructure company that was acquired at a valuation of approximately $5 billion in 2020.
Timashev said in a press release that “Building Veeam showed me the opportunity to bring powerful technology to businesses of all sizes…AI can now give small businesses more capacity without asking already stretched owners to work longer days. Worker is my bet on that shift.”
Roberts told Hypepotamus that he connected with Timashev through his private equity network during his Digital.ai days. “When I decided to build a company again, I brought him this idea. We connected around helping small businesses grow and making technology available to teams that couldn’t previously afford that kind of support.”
The exact dollar amount of Timashev’s backing has not been disclosed.
But one number that does stick out on Worker’s website? Zero.
Early customers are getting full access for free for their whole company.
Another number worth noting? The total job listings that are currently up on Worker’s site.
If you are looking for a new job in the Triangle area, you’ll want to take a look at Worker’s job board. The startup is looking to fill multiple engineering, sales, and operations roles, many of them out of Raleigh.
“We expect our global team to reach 20–40 people by year-end, with hiring for our Raleigh office taking priority,” Roberts added.
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