Raleigh startup launches free ops platform to prevent small business burnout

When serial entrepreneur John Roberts started his first software company in 2012, tasks like onboarding clients felt more chaotic than he anticipated. 

That’s when he first fell in love with business operating systems, the formal structures that organize how daily tasks are completed and decisions are made. Now he’s cofounded Worker.AI, a Raleigh startup that takes meeting notes, drafts to-do lists and tracks onboarding new customers that’s visible to everyone on staff, not just leadership. 

“People believe in operating systems, but they require a human to wake up every single day to keep them running,” Roberts told Technical.ly. “This is the system that keeps the business operating system running,”

Worker, officially unveiled today, is backed and cofounded by billionaire tech founder Ratmir Timashev — the startup’s sole investor to date. As part of the launch, Worker acquired DeltaGen, a Techstars alum that analyzes and provides real time AI-assisted coaching during sales calls. Its tech is being integrated into the Worker platform, according to Roberts. 

Citing the fact that Worker is actively exploring additional acquisitions to build out its tools, Roberts declined to share the exact dollar amount of Timashev’s investment, or the financial details of the acquisition.

The CEO of DeltaGen is joining Worker as COO, and staff will transfer to Worker. There were no layoffs, per Roberts. 

Monetizing through specialized agents 

The core Worker platform is free and will be forever, Roberts pledged. It includes tracking tasks, data and progress on goals. The platform already has users, he said, including the Raleigh commercial real estate business CityPlat.

In the future, the startup plans to monetize by selling specific AI agents to businesses, including to review OKRs (objectives and key results, a common company goal-setting framework). It doesn’t generate the OKRs, but instead provides feedback and asks questions about how a particular goal aligns with the organization, for example. 

“[The] core belief of ours is … always asking questions to the end users and helping them come up with the right answer so that they take ownership,” Roberts said. 

Worker is not meant to replace jobs, but to fill in gaps for many small business staff who are responsible for multiple tasks — and so they can take a vacation, he said. The Triangle region’s  talent pool is a key driver for Worker’s headquarters being in Raleigh. 

Growing up with a father who owned an independent pharmacy, Roberts has seen firsthand how implementing formal processes makes a difference for a small business. 

“Owners can step out of the business and have a life outside,” Roberts said. “Our whole mission here is giving the owners of those small businesses their life back.”