Windmill Raises $12M in Funding Led by Inspired Capital

The company plans to use the funds to grow its operations and continue developing its products.

Windmill started by fixing one of the most inefficient workplace processes: performance reviews. It redesigned reviews to fit how modern teams work, integrating with tools like Slack, GitHub, and Google Workspace so feedback is based on real work data. This means reviews don’t start from scratch, are completed 90% faster, and reach 93% employee satisfaction.

As AI gives individuals the power that once required full teams, each person’s value is increasing. Employees are taking on more complex, creative, and decision-based work. Companies now need to focus more on managing skills, potential, and human strengths that are becoming even more important with AI.

"I've had upwards of 10,000 people come through companies I've run," said Brian Distelburger, co-founder at Windmill. "Talk to any executive, and they'll talk about how important people are. When you drill down a few levels into what they're doing to make sure they have the right people, in the right roles, working on the right things, there's not much depth there."

Most companies don’t have a clear system to track employee performance, growth, or impact. Important insights—like who is excelling, who is underused, or who supports others—often stay in managers’ heads. This makes the process inconsistent, biased, and hard to scale. Without structured data, even AI can’t help identify top teams, spot bottlenecks, or assign the right people to key projects. In many cases, companies track everything except their most important asset—their people.

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"Every headline right now is about AI replacing workers. We think that's the wrong bet. The best organizations of the next decade won't be the ones that eliminate the most headcount. They'll be the ones who use AI to build workforces that are continuously supported and developed. Doing so requires new infrastructure, and that's exactly what Windmill is building. Max, Brian, and Mark have the conviction and the depth to go after this problem the right way, and we're proud to be on the journey with them." Said Alexa von Tobel, Managing Partner, Inspired Capital."

"There's no question that AI tools will transform how we all work," said Max Shaw, CEO and co-founder at Windmill. "We're building the infrastructure to make sure that the people don't get left behind by giving companies tools to support their people, not replace them."

About Windmill

Founded in 2023, by Brian Distelburger, Mark Tanner, and Max Shaw, Windmill helps companies better understand their workforce. Its platform creates a continuous view of employee performance and contributions, helping HR, and managers make smarter decisions while letting each person’s work speak for itself. It starts with automated performance reviews, and is free for up to 10 users.

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