A new entrant in the crowded HR tech market is betting that legacy systems can’t keep up with how work actually gets done anymore. Novaworks has officially launched with $8 million in seed funding—and a pitch that goes beyond incremental upgrades: rebuild human capital management (HCM) from the ground up for an AI-driven workforce.
Backed by Stalwart Ventures, with participation from ServiceNow Ventures and Bell Ventures, the startup is introducing what it calls an “agentic” operating system for Total Workforce Management (TWM). The goal is ambitious: unify employees, contractors, and even AI agents under a single platform.
A Clean Break From Legacy HCM
Traditional HCM platforms like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and Oracle HCM were designed for a relatively stable, full-time workforce. That model is rapidly breaking down as organizations lean into contingent labor, gig workers, and increasingly, AI-driven automation.
Novaworks is positioning itself as a reset.
Instead of layering AI features onto legacy architecture, the platform is built as “AI-native”—with intelligence embedded directly into workflows from the start. That includes automating decisions, orchestrating tasks, and dynamically managing workforce composition.
CEO and co-founder Kelley Steven-Waiss, a former CHRO turned tech executive, frames the shift bluntly: workforce systems designed for static org charts don’t map to today’s fluid, hybrid, and AI-augmented environments.
What “Agentic” Actually Means
The buzzword of the moment—agentic AI—refers to systems that don’t just analyze data but take action autonomously within defined parameters.
In Novaworks’ case, that translates into:
- Coordinating work across humans and AI agents
- Automating workforce planning and deployment decisions
- Embedding intelligence into HR workflows rather than treating it as an add-on layer
- Continuously optimizing operations based on real-time data
If that sounds like a blend of HCM, workflow automation, and AI orchestration—that’s the point.
By building on the ServiceNow platform, Novaworks is also leaning into an ecosystem already widely used for enterprise workflows, IT service management, and increasingly, HR operations.
Why Investors Are Paying Attention
The $8 million seed round may be modest by late-stage startup standards, but it signals growing investor confidence in AI-native enterprise software—particularly platforms that rethink core systems rather than retrofit them.
Stalwart Ventures led the round, betting on both the market opportunity and the founding team’s track record. ServiceNow’s participation is equally notable, suggesting alignment with its broader strategy to become a central hub for enterprise AI workflows.
That backing matters in a space where credibility and integration capabilities often determine adoption.
A Founding Team With Familiar Credentials
Novaworks isn’t starting from scratch. Its founders, Kelley Steven-Waiss and CTO Eswar Vandanapu, previously built Hitch Works—an AI-driven talent platform acquired by ServiceNow in 2022.
Both bring deep enterprise and platform experience:
- Steven-Waiss later served as Chief Transformation Officer at ServiceNow, working with global enterprises on AI and digital transformation
- Vandanapu led engineering across complex product areas including IT operations and security
They’re joined by Chief Product Officer Melanie Lougee, whose resume includes leadership roles at Workday, ServiceNow, Gartner, Oracle, and PeopleSoft.
In other words, this is a team that knows both the strengths—and the limitations—of existing HR tech stacks.
The Bigger Play: Total Workforce Management
The most interesting part of Novaworks’ strategy isn’t just AI—it’s scope.
Rather than focusing solely on HR processes, the company is targeting Total Workforce Management, a broader category that includes:
- Full-time employees
- Contractors and contingent workers
- External partners
- AI agents and automated systems
That shift reflects how organizations are increasingly thinking about “work” as something distributed across multiple resource types—not just people on payroll.
It also puts Novaworks in emerging competition with a mix of HCM vendors, workforce management platforms, and enterprise AI orchestration tools.
A Crowded Market, but a Real Gap
The challenge, of course, is execution. The HCM space is notoriously sticky, with incumbents like Workday and SAP deeply embedded in enterprise operations.
But there’s also a growing sense that those systems are struggling to evolve fast enough—particularly when it comes to integrating AI in a meaningful, operational way.
That creates an opening for startups like Novaworks, especially if they can deliver on promises of simplicity, automation, and measurable impact.
What to Watch
Novaworks’ immediate focus will be on scaling product development, expanding its team, and landing early enterprise customers.
Longer term, its success will hinge on whether organizations are ready to rethink workforce management as a unified, AI-driven system—or whether they continue to rely on a patchwork of tools.
Either way, the company’s launch underscores a clear trend: the future of HR tech isn’t just digital—it’s autonomous, integrated, and increasingly built around AI as a core operating layer.
For an industry long defined by incremental change, that’s a meaningful shift.
Join thousands of HR leaders who rely on HRTechEdge for the latest in workforce technology, AI-driven HR solutions, and strategic insights
