Robert Chapman began working in web design and development in 2007. He worked as a partner in various businesses over the course of a few years and then spent eight consulting with mid-sized companies. From this combined experience, Chapman came to realize that many businesses don’t know where to start when it comes to AI—beyond, that is, using it like “Super Google.”
Chapman also estimated that beyond being unsure of where to start, some 80% of people within those companies were afraid to try using AI, either because they were overwhelmed with the amount of information at hand or because embracing the new technology simply seemed too hard.
“What we realized is there is a need to try to pivot the way we view AI as a tool [to] view it more as a peer and colleague,” Chapman said.
With that in mind, he began to pointedly study the current AI market; in February of 2026, he started developing an agentic platform in service of his goal. And soon thereafter he was testing the platform with a handful of pilot customers.
AugWork AI takes shape
That early work blossomed into AugWork AI, an emerging startup built around a labor augmentation tool helping businesses build and utilize their own certified AI employees to assist with everyday tasks and workload. Similar to a new human hire, the AI completes work based on a specific, designated position.
A user can build their employee by uploading a job description to the website and creating a persona. They can then connect that persona with their business’s designated tools, like Microsoft Teams or Gmail, in a point-and-click format.
Once that is done, they can name and deploy the employee in a certified manner within minutes to begin working. For instance, if a business needs a project coordinator, they can spin one up just by creating the relevant persona and listing primary duties and tasks related to that specific position. The agent will go to work accordingly.
“Think of it as trying to humanize AI adoption and bring it to where people are going to operate it like a pure coworker,” Chapman said.
What makes AugWork AI unique, Chapman suggests, is that it addresses the common issue of labor shortage, serving to complete more repetitive tasks so humans can focus on more important work.
The AI employees run on their own schedules and remember the business’s tools and people as needed. They are agentic while still allowing human oversight on what they do on a day-to-day basis. Users can even leave performance reviews, detailing the agents’ strengths or what they need to improve upon.
The journey so far
Based in Wilmington, AugWork AI officially launched this fall. Its testing process was heavily centered on “deep certification,” according to Chapman. It involved experimenting with role descriptions and building custom integrations as needed, but their pilot customers and quality assurance team helped hone the platform to focus on certified AI employees.
AugWork AI focuses on targeting construction and skilled trade companies, building many of their test employees for application in those industries. However, the platform is capable of serving any industry.
The startup will generate revenue on a “per-AI employee basis,” as Chapman put it. A new user can build and sustain their first AI employee at $4,000/month, with any subsequent employee serving the same user costing $3,000/month.
Chapman said one challenge with building AugWork AI was making sure more natural language was tested, such that if different human employees convey messages to an AI agent in different terms, the agent will still produce the same work.
“Since you’re trying to interact with a coworker, you have to ask things that you would ask of a coworker, right?” Chapman pointed out. “‘Hey, did you do this?’ ‘Hey, can you move that meeting up?’ ‘Can you move that meeting back?’”
At the time of this writing, AugWork AI is hyper-focused on growing its business in Wilmington, the Triangle area, and Charlotte. They next aim to expand meaningfully into other states (though it should be noted that they are already gaining customers from beyond North Carolina).
Earlier this month, the startup took part in Spark ILM conference and Cape Fear District Connect event with Carolina AGC in Wilmington.
QUICK BITS
Startup: AugWork AI
Founder: Robert Chapman
Founded: 2026
Team size: 10
Location: Wilmington
Website: augwork.ai
Funding: Bootstrapped; raising
Right now, AugWork AI is focused on raising capital, but their next steps are integrating “custom-certified AI employees” to their platform, enabling business partners to certify their own AI employees through the platform for the customers and market sector they want to go after.
Chapman said that will be part of their growth plan starting July 2027.
“Right now, we’re very hands down focused on improving repeatability, scalability, and kind of, you know, staying laser focused on where we’re at,” he said.
Those interested can book a demo at AugWork.AI
