Factories could hum with automation, however the again places of work behind them nonetheless depend on human keystrokes. Order entries, bill checks, and email-based workflows quietly gradual even probably the most superior producers. Workist, a Berlin-based AI automation firm based by Tim Wegner and Alexander Müller (Co-CEOs) with Dr. Fabian Brosig (CTO), is altering that actuality.
By combining deep experience in consulting, machine studying, and database engineering, the staff is bridging superior AI with real-world enterprise wants — redefining what effectivity means within the fashionable industrial period.
On this unique interview, the founders clarify how Workist is closing the world’s productiveness hole — and why Korea could change into its subsequent main development frontier as the corporate progressed as one of many Prime 40 Startups of Ok-Startup Grand Problem 2025.
“After KSGC, we gained priceless publicity to Korean producers and advisors, serving to us validate native necessities—and now companions more and more inform us, ‘Oh, Workist, I’ve heard of your automation answer,’ and we’re pleased with that.”
Workist: Automating the Work That Automation Forgot
Q1. What motivated you to start out this firm, and what core downside had been you making an attempt to resolve?
The thought for Workist grew out of numerous conversations with producers and wholesalers. Each time we requested about their greatest operational problem, the reply was nearly all the time the identical:
“Manufacturing is automated, however order entry and different handbook administrative work nonetheless devour an excessive amount of of our staff’s time.”
Throughout industries, expert gross sales and procurement professionals spend hours every day transferring information from emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets into outdated ERP methods.
Though important for income movement, this work is handbook, gradual, and susceptible to errors. We realized this was greater than only a productiveness problem: it was additionally a structural barrier to development, resilience, and competitiveness.
Immediately, we’re at an inflection level the place AI can reliably automate routine administrative work, simply as earlier applied sciences reworked bodily labor. When order entry and different repetitive duties are dealt with by AI brokers, individuals regain the capability to deal with what actually drives worth: constructing relationships, producing new enterprise, and making knowledgeable choices. Corporations can scale regardless of workforce constraints, enhance each staff and buyer experiences, and allow significant digital upskilling.
Due to this fact, Workist was based to make this shift sensible and accessible. We have now a easy however highly effective mission: to free groups from repetitive work to allow them to focus on duties that create lasting affect.
Why Korea Might Turn out to be the Mannequin for Human-AI Collaboration for Workist
Q2. What alternative or unmet want did you establish within the Korean market, and what early alerts satisfied you that your answer might achieve actual traction right here?
Korea stands out as one of many world’s most innovation-driven economies, residence to a sophisticated manufacturing sector that’s now confronting acquainted structural challenges—shrinking workforce numbers, rising labor prices, and escalating international competitors.
In early discussions with Korean producers and distributors, one message got here by way of clearly: administrative workload is rising quicker than the provision of expert employees. Groups face mounting handbook volumes, more and more complicated product catalogs that drive increased error charges, and international software program instruments that fail to accommodate Korean workflows or file codecs equivalent to HWP.
A robust early sign got here from our international rollouts throughout 36 nations, the place Korean groups emerged as among the most enthusiastic adopters. A number of members shared that they felt “lastly included” in a software program deployment that really addressed their particular wants—a response we had not seen as strongly anyplace else.
These insights confirmed each the urgency of the issue and Korea’s readiness for a dependable, totally built-in back-office automation answer like Workist.
Localizing Intelligence: What International SaaS Typically Will get Improper
Q3. Throughout KSGC, had been there any mentors, companions, or particular insights that considerably influenced your product or technique?
One of the crucial priceless insights we gained throughout KSGC got here from early discussions with Korean advisors, system integrators, and potential companions. They helped us perceive why many international SaaS options battle—or fail—to ascertain a foothold in Korea. The problem isn’t about demand; it’s extra about localization.
Many international instruments overlook Korea’s particular doc codecs, workflows, and integration necessities. This realization was pivotal. It confirmed that demand for back-office automation in Korea is powerful, however adoption depends upon constructing options that respect how Korean groups really function—not simply translating an interface.
In response, we enhanced our Korean UI parts, added native help for codecs like HWP, and refined our integration technique to align seamlessly with native ERP methods. As one mentor summarized it completely, “Corporations listed here are prepared for automation, however provided that the answer genuinely works for Korea.”
This angle guided our technique towards native partnerships, deeper product adaptation, and constructing long-term belief from the very begin.
From Belief to Traction: The KSGC Impact
This autumn. After becoming a member of KSGC, what has been probably the most significant change on your firm and what proof helps this development?
Essentially the most significant change for Workist after becoming a member of the Ok-Startup Grand Problem program has been the acceleration of our Asia market readiness, each strategically and product-wise. This system gave us priceless publicity to Korean producers, distributors, and advisors, serving to refine our understanding of native necessities and validate key market assumptions.
A significant perception that emerged early on was the crucial significance of true localization. Based mostly on this, we refined a number of product elements, together with our Korean UI, native help for regional codecs equivalent to HWP, and font compatibility to make sure a seamless expertise for Korean customers and ERP environments.
KSGC additionally helped us construct early momentum in one other essential facet: credibility. Being chosen for this system serves as a transparent belief sign when approaching Korean corporations. A number of stakeholders talked about that KSGC participation demonstrates dedication and reliability. And it’s opening doorways to conversations with producers, IT service suppliers, and potential integration companions.
In parallel, Workist’s international development and recognition continued to speed up. Immediately, we serve greater than 170 prospects worldwide, connecting over 100,000 corporations by way of our platform and processing greater than 15 trillion KRW in GMV yearly.
More and more, we hear, “Oh, Workist—I’ve heard of your automation answer,” in the beginning of latest conversations, which makes us extremely proud.
These developments, mixed with insights from KSGC, have bolstered our conviction that Korea represents a extremely receptive and strategically necessary marketplace for Workist’s continued enlargement.
The Way forward for Work Isn’t About Changing Individuals—It’s About Reclaiming Time
Q5. Wanting forward, what’s a very powerful imaginative and prescient or long-term objective your organization goals to attain, and what steps are you taking to maneuver towards it?
Workist’s long-term imaginative and prescient is to reshape the way forward for work by making international commerce extra frictionless by enabling actually touchless order cycles. We envision a world the place administrative duties not gradual groups down—the place AI brokers deal with complicated information processing with reliability, and individuals can deal with judgment, creativity, and significant human interplay.
To appreciate this imaginative and prescient, we’re constructing Workist as a world AI spine for back-office automation. Our platform already processes paperwork in over 40 languages, and we see this as solely the start. Our objective is to help any doc, in any format, throughout any market, enabling corporations to function globally with out being constrained by handbook workflows, region-specific codecs or language boundaries.
Our technique facilities on three priorities:
- Finish-to-end course of automation.Increasing past information extraction and validation to allow totally seamless order cycles, together with outbound e-mail dealing with and clever order insights.
- Enterprise-grade reliability.Enhancing accuracy, safety, and integration depth—backed by SOC 2 Kind 2 certification and partnerships with main ERP suppliers.
- International enlargement by way of native ecosystems.Working carefully with trusted companions in Korea, Japan, and the US to make sure deep localization and sustainable adoption.
In the end, our ambition is to take away administrative friction worldwide, empowering corporations to scale, innovate, and compete at their full potential.
Within the broader story of business transformation, Workist isn’t simply automating information entry — it’s rewriting how data work capabilities in an AI-driven world. And in Korea, the place innovation meets precision, that imaginative and prescient is discovering fertile floor.
About This Sequence
This text is a part of the “Ok-Startup Grand Problem 2025 Interview Sequence,” that includes 40 international startups from Section 2 of Korea’s main accelerator program. The sequence highlights how worldwide founders are scaling innovation by way of Korea’s startup ecosystem.
Learn extra tales from the Ok-Startup Grand Problem 2025 Interview Sequence on KoreaTechDesk.
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