For all the money pouring into artificial intelligence, here’s a strange truth: Most workers still don’t know what to do with it.
Companies have bought the software. They’ve rolled out copilots, chatbots, and new systems with big promises attached. But inside many offices, AI has become a little like that expensive treadmill collecting dust in the corner. Useful in theory, rarely changing daily habits.
That gap between buying AI and actually using AI at scale is where Certifyde saw its opening.
The company, which just announced a $2 million seed round, is focused on helping workers build AI into how they already work. Its Productivity Companion browser extension layers on top of tools companies already use – from Salesforce to Google to Slack – and delivers role-specific AI guidance while employees work, helping build habits instead of forcing major system changes.
That idea caught the attention of investors ranging from K5 Global and Flamingo Capital to George Ruan (co-founder of Honey) to Brad Garlinghouse of Ripple Labs, alongside tennis giant Taylor Fritz and electro legends Diplo and Kygo.
“Honey helped millions of people save money at the point of purchase,” Ruan shared in a statement. “Certifyde brings that same in-workflow intelligence to the modern workforce, training thousands of healthcare professionals in real time, and ultimately helping improve outcomes for millions of lives.”
Skylar Hauswirth, Certifyde’s CEO, positioned the company in similarly human terms.
“Unlike other workplace tools, Certifyde’s goal isn’t to replace people, but to empower them. By building AI adoption into the flow of real work, we’re giving individuals and teams the skills to focus on problem-solving, creativity, and impact,” he commented.
That framing matters. Much of AI has been sold through fear: automate or fall behind. Certifyde is selling fluency.
Hauswirth’s own background also makes Certifyde an unusual Miami startup story. Before launching the company in 2023, he built his career across hospitality, brand partnerships, and consumer experiences, including founding MAHAM Yoga Studio, a Miami Beach wellness brand, and the Model Volleyball tournament. That mix of community-building and experience design may help explain Certifyde’s core bet: that getting workers to adopt AI is as much a human challenge as it is a technical one
Hauswirth co-founded the company alongside New York-based CTO Mike Kelly.
Certifyde is already finding traction, with engagements spanning the New York City Department of Transportation, biomedical labs nationwide, and approved provider status with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.
The next phase of AI may not belong to whoever builds the smartest model. It may belong to whoever helps ordinary workers make AI part of everyday work seamlessly, naturally, and at scale.
Pictured above: Certifyde Co-founders Mike Kelly (at left), CTO; and Skylar Hauswirth, CEO.
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