Wisq Says They’ve Built The First HR Generalist AI

Harper, the AI Agent built by Redwood City-based startup Wisq, interprets labor laws, enforced policy guardrails, and surfaces risks before they escalate. In a single month, they claim, it saves each HR team member over 35 hours of manual work. This is potentially a massive time save for HR teams that spend nearly 80% of their time on service delivery tasks. Founded in 2022 by Glint alumni and led by CEO Jim Barnett, Wisq has now raised a total of $55 million, including a recent $15 million round from Norwest Venture Partners, Shasta Ventures, and True Ventures, to accelerate what it calls the “Agentic Era” of HR: a future where domain-specific AI agents serve as trusted collaborators. Wisq’s Expanding Product Strategy Their core product, Harper, is marketed as the world’s