Gold Coast workplace AI startup Zeligate lands $500,000 Seed round

Gold Coast AI workforce startup Zeligate has raised $500,000 in a Seed round.

The deal California B2B early-stage VC DNX Ventures, which also has an office in Tokyo and principal based in Australia, making its first local investment. 

Zeligate will look to raise a Series A in 12 months to end 2026.

Founded in 2023 by CEO Denver Naidoo, Zeligate’s AI tools help people “manage the mundane” at work so they can spend more time thinking, communicating and innovating. They enable organisations to automate entire processes, not just isolated tasks to boost productivity across a range of business functions.

The Seed funding will accelerate product expansion, marketing, and sales activities nationally with a focus on increasing awareness and adoption of its flagship AI product, led by the Hiring Co-worker.

Naidoo said the partnership with DNX Ventures is a significant endorsement of the company’s mission, having relocated from Brisbane to the Gold Coast earlier this year.

“DNX’s decision to make us its first Australian investment is a testament to the hard work of our team and the massive potential of our AI workforce, which we call Zelis,” he said.

“This new funding will allow us to scale our operations, expand our team of AI assistants, and demonstrate how easily organisations can delegate routine tasks to live avatars to unlock human creativity and strategic focus.”

DNX Ventures Australian-based principal Yurika Imuta said Zeligate has the potential to set a new standard in recruitment and help companies unlock broader access to high-quality talent.

“We were particularly impressed by the company’s AI technology, especially the quality of its AI-driven interview experience,” she said.

“Denver’s deep expertise in AI has enabled the team to build a truly multimodal, AI-native SaaS product, with a voice-based interview platform that stands out in a field known for its technical challenges.

“Recruitment is often a complex and imperfect process where candidates are assessed within minutes based largely on their resumes. This puts companies at risk of overlooking talented individuals with strong potential. We believe Zeligate can bridge this gap by enabling a more dynamic and inclusive way to evaluate talent, while providing fairer opportunities for all candidates to present themselves.”