AI Coworker Console Raises $6.2M to Handle Your IT Complaints

The modern workplace runs on digital tools, but as organizations become increasingly tech-dependent, their IT teams are drowning in a sea of repetitive requests. Password resets, app access approvals, laptop setups, the same patterns repeat daily across companies of all sizes. While these tasks are predictable, automating them effectively has proven surprisingly difficult, leaving IT departments stretched thin and employees frustrated with slow response times.

Console, a San Francisco-based startup is taking a fundamentally different approach to IT automation. Rather than forcing employees to navigate clunky portals or submit traditional help desk tickets, Console operates as an AI coworker directly within Slack, handling routine IT requests instantly while maintaining the oversight and policy enforcement that organizations require.

The company announced that it has secured $6.2 million in funding from Thrive Capital, marking a significant milestone in its mission to transform how organizations handle internal IT support.

The Growing IT Support Crisis

The statistics paint a clear picture of the challenge facing modern IT departments. As companies digitize their operations, the burden on IT teams has grown exponentially, yet budget constraints often mean these teams are expected to “do more with less.” The result is a perfect storm: burned-out IT professionals, frustrated employees waiting for basic support, and declining productivity across entire organizations.

“Most IT requests follow the same predictable patterns,” explains the Console team. But automating them is harder than it looks. Every company has its own tools, policies, and edge cases, so most requests still get handled manually. 

This manual approach creates multiple pain points. Employees must remember which portal to use for which request, IT teams spend valuable time on routine tasks that could be automated, and simple requests often get stuck in lengthy approval chains. The inefficiency compounds as organizations grow, creating bottlenecks that impact company-wide productivity.

So, Andrei Serban, while leading product on Rippling’s apps and integrations team, understood the necessity of manual IT work. Joining Rippling after the 2023 acquisition of his security startup, Fuzzbuzz, he identified the potential of AI to automate routine help desk tasks.

A New Approach to IT Automation

Console’s solution centers on meeting employees where they already work in Slack, while handling the complexity of IT operations behind the scenes. The platform functions as an AI coworker that learns each organization’s specific workflows, enforces established policies, and automates work that traditionally required human intervention.

The user experience is deliberately simple: employees message Console directly in Slack with their requests, and the AI handles the rest. For straightforward requests that fall within established parameters, Console can resolve issues instantly. When situations require human judgment or fall outside standard procedures, the system seamlessly escalates by opening a ticket in the organization’s existing help desk system and maintaining synchronization between Slack conversations and IT team responses.

“The result is a seamless, invisible support experience that doesn’t require employees to think about how they get help,” the company states. This approach eliminates the cognitive overhead of navigating different systems while ensuring that IT teams maintain visibility and control over all requests.

Proven Results with Enterprise Clients

Console’s approach has already demonstrated significant impact across a diverse range of high-growth companies. The platform currently automates over 50% of IT requests for clients including Scale AI, Flock Safety, and Calendly, among others. The types of requests being automated span the full spectrum of common IT needs: application access approvals, account unlocks, password resets, laptop provisioning, and routine troubleshooting.

Particularly noteworthy is Console’s role in access management, where the platform often serves as the single source for access approvals a critical function that requires both speed and security. Even in cases where human intervention becomes necessary, Console adds value by gathering relevant context upfront, enabling IT professionals to resolve issues more efficiently.

The implementation process has been designed for minimal disruption to existing operations. Rather than requiring organizations to replace their current systems, Console integrates with existing tools and workflows. The platform adapts to each environment, learning organizational-specific procedures and policies, and can begin handling requests immediately upon deployment.

Most impressively, the typical timeline from initial setup to organization-wide deployment is just three weeks remarkably fast for enterprise software implementations, which often take months to complete.

Technical Architecture and Learning Capabilities

What sets Console apart from traditional IT automation tools is its ability to learn and adapt to each organization’s unique environment. Rather than requiring extensive upfront configuration or rigid rule-setting, the AI observes patterns in how IT requests are handled and gradually takes on more responsibility as it demonstrates competency.

This learning approach addresses one of the fundamental challenges in IT automation: the vast differences between organizations. While the types of requests may be similar across companies, the specific tools, approval processes, security requirements, and edge cases vary significantly. Console’s adaptive architecture allows it to handle this complexity without requiring extensive customization for each deployment.

The platform’s integration capabilities are equally important. By connecting with existing help desk systems, identity management platforms, and other IT tools, Console can operate within established workflows rather than forcing organizations to adopt new processes.

Market Expansion 

While Console’s initial focus has been on IT support, the company’s vision extends well beyond traditional IT departments. The same patterns of repetitive, rule-based requests that plague IT teams are common across other organizational functions, including Human Resources, Finance, and Legal departments.

“Anywhere there’s a backlog of repetitive internal requests that impact overall productivity, Console can help,” the team notes. This expansion potential represents a significant market opportunity, as organizations increasingly seek to automate routine processes that don’t require human creativity or judgment.

The $6.2 million funding round from Thrive Capital provides Console with the resources to accelerate development in these new areas while continuing to deepen its capabilities within IT workflows. Thrive Capital, known for its investments in high-growth technology companies, brings both financial resources and strategic expertise to support Console’s expansion.

Industry Implications

Console’s approach reflects broader trends in enterprise software toward intelligent automation and improved employee experience. As organizations compete for talent in a tight labor market, the quality of internal tools and processes becomes increasingly important for employee satisfaction and retention.

The shift toward conversational interfaces for enterprise functions also aligns with changing workplace communication patterns. With platforms like Slack becoming central to how teams collaborate, integrating support functions directly into these environments reduces context switching and improves overall efficiency.

From an IT perspective, Console’s model addresses the ongoing challenge of scaling support operations without proportionally increasing headcount. By automating routine requests while maintaining human oversight for complex issues, organizations can improve service levels while allowing IT professionals to focus on higher-value strategic initiatives.

Looking Ahead

As Console continues to grow its client base and expand its capabilities, the company represents a new category of workplace automation tools that prioritize user experience while maintaining operational control. The combination of AI-powered automation, seamless integration, and rapid deployment positions the platform to address one of the most persistent challenges in modern organizations.

The success of Console’s approach with major clients suggests that the market is ready for this type of intelligent automation. As the platform expands into additional functional areas and continues to refine its AI capabilities, it has the potential to fundamentally change how organizations handle internal support requests across multiple departments.