A new artificial intelligence startup is betting that HR departments will be the next big battleground for business AI adoption, launching a specialized search engine that aims to change how companies manage the their workers.

Boundless AIwhich came out of hiding last year, announced today the release of HRGPTis a free search engine powered by AI that allows companies to query their internal HR data along with employment laws and regulations. The company also disclosed a $5 million strategic investment from the AI ​​company UNITEbringing its total seed funding to $32 million.

“Every HR department has AI agents that manage different aspects of the HR stack,” said Willson Cross, cofounder and CEO of Borderless AI, in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “We’re proud to be at the forefront of that vertical.”

How Borderless AI’s HRGPT is changing workforce management

The Toronto-based startup is positioning itself to compete with established HR software providers such as Work day and ADP by focusing only on AI-powered solutions. Its platform already counts many multinational companies as customers, including Dunlop Sporting Goodswhich uses technology to manage employee onboarding across 17 global offices.

Unlike general-purpose AI chatbots, HRGPT combines real-time web searches with access to internal company data and specialized HR knowledge. The system can perform tasks from creating employment agreements to tracking time off requests and managing international expense payments.

“Unlike ChatGPT, we have real-time web searches. When a customer asks HRGPT a question, it scans the web for real-time searches and citations,” Cross said in VentureBeat. The platform also integrates with PricewaterhouseCoopers for expertise in employment law.

The investment from UNITE signal growing interest in vertical-specific AI applications for business. As consumer AI tools like ChatGPT gain public attention, Cross believes the next wave of AI adoption will come from businesses.

“For the next two to three years, these are businesses that are coming up and waking up to bring AI into their organizations,” he said. “HR is one that has a lot of practical use cases.”

The Borderless AI approach reflects a broader trend of AI companies focusing on specific industries rather than trying to create general-purpose tools. Similar vertically-focused companies include Harvey AI in legal technology and Sierra in customer service.

Build a billion-dollar HR tech company with AI at its core

The company’s ambitious vision includes automating complex HR processes such as payroll management and employee analytics. Cross explained that they aim to build a billion-dollar company with fewer than 50 employees by leveraging AI in their own operations.

However, Borderless AI faces several challenges, including prioritizing which features to develop next amid strong customer demand. The company must also maintain accuracy and compliance with its automated HR functions, especially for sensitive tasks such as employment agreements and international payments.

The startup’s success could signal whether specialized AI tools can successfully compete against established enterprise software providers racing to add AI capabilities to their products. So far, the first customers seem convinced: Borderless AI reports that its AI agents are performing tasks hourly across its customer base.