Automation software provider Wrk Technologies Inc. said today it has raised $43 million in cumulative seed, Series A and debt financing.

The most recent Series A round of funding was led by White Star Capital and Omers Ventures, while the previous seed round was led by Real Ventures and Desjardins Capital, with participation from angel investors such as Cherif Habib, chief executive officer of Dialogue Technologies Inc., Mark MacLeod, the former chief financial officer of Shopify Inc., and Charlie Songhurst, a former head of strategy at Microsoft Corp.

Wrk has built what it says is a hybrid automation platform for businesses that enables them to combine workforce automation with human workforces. Wrk says its platform is based on a unique “building block” structure that makes it simple for anyone, including those without information technology skills, to build workflows that leverage artificial intelligence-powered bots, application programming interface integrations, robotic process automation and human skills.

The company says its easy-to-use platform combines an unprecedented mix of pre-configured technology with human ingenuity to automate almost any repetitive business task, no matter how complex it may be.

Key to Wrk’s platform is its library of thousands of ready made “Wrk Actions,” which enable a wide range of business processes to be automated using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Using Wrk Actions, it’s possible to automate accounts and invoicing processes quickly, so financial teams can quickly add new hires to the company’s payroll, for example, without the typical back and forth to collect the information necessary to do that. Wrk Actions can also be used to automate client reporting processes, the drafting of new proposals and quotes, and employee provisioning processes.

Wrk said automation trends in the enterprise have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it believes that though the demand is there, the reality is that many companies have struggled to implement traditional business process automation solutions because of their complexity, technical incompatibilities, lengthy onboarding processes and high implementation costs.

Wrk reckons its approach to automation is far simpler, allowing companies to get up and running with automated processes in a matter of hours, rather than months.

“For far too long, businesses have struggled with adopting automation because of the high costs of entry, rigid implementation processes, and overly complex language,” said Wrk CEO Mohannad El-Barachi. “This investment is the first step in bringing to market an automation solution that breaks these barriers and delivers on its mission of making automation insanely simple.”

Laura Lenz, a partner at Omers Ventures, said she invested in Wrk because she hears almost every day how companies are struggling to bridge the gap between the potential of autonomous workflows and the time and cost it takes to implement them.

“Unlike a lot of automation solutions, Wrk isn’t trying to replace human ingenuity,” Lenz said. “Instead, it is leveraging a skilled team to tailor automated solutions for each customer, so businesses can scale when and where they need to, without the barriers that exist today.”

Image: Wrk