NEW YORK – As the tech industry races to automate job functions, a New York-based startup is taking a contrarian approach by using artificial intelligence to make employees more indispensable, not less.
Building the “Context Graph” for People
Windmill describes itself as the “context graph for your people.” While most companies have sophisticated systems of record for their finances (ERP) and customers (CRM), the startup argues that the most critical asset—the workforce—is often managed via guesswork and fragmented data.
Windmill’s platform functions as an AI-native infrastructure layer that integrates with tools like Slack, GitHub, and Google Workspace to create a continuous, cited understanding of how work actually happens. By capturing evidence from real-world interactions, Windmill helps companies identify who is growing, who is underutilized, and who is elevating their peers. The company’s first major product is an AI-driven performance review system that uses this “context graph” to automate the writing of reviews, claiming to complete them 90% faster than traditional methods while maintaining a 93% employee satisfaction rate.
$12 Million in New Funding
To fuel this vision, Windmill announced today that it has raised $12 million in a seed funding round. The investment was led by Inspired Capital, with significant participation from Primary Venture Partners, Founder Collective, and Oceans Ventures.
The funding comes on the back of rapid early growth; since its product launch in November 2025, Windmill has already secured over 100 customers, including high-growth firms like Kalshi, Rho, and Merge.
The Problem: A “Lossy” Understanding of Talent
Windmill’s founders argue that the shift toward AI is actually making human judgment and creativity more valuable, yet companies are ill-equipped to manage this high-leverage workforce.
“Talk to any executive and they’ll talk about how important people are,” said Brian Distelburger, co-founder of Windmill and former co-founder of Yext. “When you drill down a few levels into what they’re doing to make sure they have the right people, in the right roles, working on the right things, there’s not much depth there.”
The company believes that currently, vital information about employee performance lives only in the minds of a few managers, making it “lossy, biased, and impossible to act on at scale.” Without a systematic way to organize this context, organizations struggle to identify their highest-performing teams or surface internal bottlenecks.
Betting on the Human Element
Despite the headlines focused on AI displacement, Windmill’s leadership sees a different future.
“We’re building the infrastructure to make sure that the people don’t get left behind,” said Max Shaw, CEO and co-founder of Windmill. “We’re giving companies tools to support their people, not replace them.”
This sentiment is echoed by the company’s investors. Alexa von Tobel, Managing Partner at Inspired Capital, noted that the best organizations of the next decade won’t be those that cut the most headcount, but those that use AI to better develop their staff. “The AI transformation just handed HR the most strategic mandate in the company,” the company stated, positioning its platform as the essential tool for HR leaders to navigate the biggest workforce shift in a generation.
With the new capital, Windmill plans to expand its “context graph” capabilities and its AI agent, Windy, making workforce insights available via API and modern integration protocols for companies worldwide.
