Hyper Automate co-founders Lee Whitaker and Jordan Betteridge join wiity.ai as part of the founding team, alongside chief executive officer Michael Rogers. The team is expected to grow quickly over the coming months, including a CTO, Head of Client Solutions and developers.
The wiity.ai data layer connects the internal systems recruitment agencies and talent acquisition teams already run, giving AI agents the context they need to do safe, useful work. Data is held in Australia. The platform is built to the Australian Privacy Principles and the National AI Centre's Guidance for AI Adoption.
Recruitment businesses typically run six or seven separate systems: applicant tracking, customer relationship management, payroll, finance, compliance and job distribution. Each is well built. None was designed to connect to the others.
“Every SaaS platform out there thinks it's the master and the source of truth. That's been fine on its own terms, but it means nothing talks to anything else. The reality is there is only one source of truth, and that's your business seen whole.”
Jordan Betteridge, wiity.ai
According to the founders, this is why AI agents cannot yet be trusted with operational work in recruitment.
“For an AI agent to do a good job it needs the context of all of those systems, not one in isolation. If it's about to text a candidate, it needs to understand not just what's in the ATS, but what timesheets have come in, whether the client has paid, whether that client is on hold, and what compliance documents are expiring. Without that, it's operating blind.”
Michael Rogers, chief executive officer, wiity.ai
Hyper Automate spent over two years working inside recruitment agencies across Australia, building custom tools and running AI adoption programmes.
“Over the past two years we've been deeply connected to every part of our clients' operations. Building custom point solutions, training teams, developing AI roadmaps we then help govern and execute. We reached the point in our growth where it needed to be more than the two of us.”
Lee Whitaker, wiity.ai
“What the merger brings forward is turning custom point solutions into a data platform, so that clients with all this disparate data in silos can bring it together into something that becomes the core of their business, and then use AI and AI agents safely on top of it.”
Lee Whitaker, wiity.ai
“These problems aren't unique to individual companies. They're industry wide. They just get described differently. For years, recruitment businesses and talent acquisition teams have had their budgets squeezed, and the technology hasn't met the need.”
Michael Rogers, wiity.ai
The founders were explicit that the business is not built around headcount reduction.
“Take away the mundane work every role carries, and let humans connect with humans to grow the business, rather than just cost out activities. The question is how we help a business grow by freeing people up for revenue, not how we manage the cost line.”
Michael Rogers, wiity.ai
Whitaker commented that governance sits at the centre of the approach, particularly as Australian regulation develops.
“Clients can't drive forward without deep insight into what's happening in their business. And to use AI and AI agents the right way, guardrailed and safe, the only way forward is a middle layer where the data is consolidated and normalised, and you can then act on it properly.”
Lee Whitaker, wiity.ai
Michael Rogers previously held global chief information officer roles across international healthcare recruitment groups before moving to Australia, where he founded Flexi, a business connecting candidates and clients directly, and later led the transformation of Comensura's operating model in Australia.
Lee Whitaker has more than 22 years in recruitment software, including senior roles at Broadbean, SEEK and Kyloe Partners. She has worked with more than 1,000 recruitment agencies on process, technology and change.
Jordan Betteridge has 15 years building and scaling technology businesses, including co-founding a recruitment technology platform across APAC through to exit in 2019. He leads brand, experience and adoption.
“For our existing clients we are able to provide access to more knowledge, more specialists, and additional offerings we can bring them over the coming years.”
Lee Whitaker, wiity.ai