The Next Wave of AI Doesn’t Replace People – It Elevates Them

AI is transforming the workplace. But the next critical step is not about automating or replacing people - it’s about empowering them. It’s about supporting performance exactly where it happens: in the flow of daily work. This is the core thesis behind Taskbase. The ETH spin-off led by CEO Samuel Portmann has built an AI agent platform that brings learning to where it’s actually needed: into customer conversations, negotiations, and pitches. Not as another training course. Not as yet another content platform. But as contextual, in-workflow performance support -  embedded directly into the moments that matter most.

With customers such as Lufthansa, Helvetia, Swiss Post, BASF, and the Swiss National Bank, one trend is becoming clear: corporate learning is shifting away from “more training” toward measurable impact in real work situations.

The recent acquisition of micro-learning startup Micromate is not just a feature expansion - it is a strategic step toward sustainable adoption. The goal is to move away from “yet another platform” and toward AI coaching embedded directly in Teams, Slack, and CRM systems -integrated into the workflow, not sitting beside it.

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Samuel, why are you speaking of “coaching” instead of “automating”?

Samuel Portmann: From early on, we were driven by the belief that learning needs to be closer to people - embedded in their daily work, development, and real context. Today, we see that the most powerful learning moments don’t happen in formal trainings. They happen in projects, in conversations, in negotiations - on the job.
And that doesn’t require an agent that takes over everything. Most users don’t want an autopilot. They want support at the right moment.
I often compare it to sports. You want to win the game yourself. You want to score the goal yourself. But you also want a coach who prepares you, motivates you, and gives you guidance - and occasionally takes work off your plate when it makes sense. That balance is crucial for us.

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People don’t want an agent. They want a coach that helps them score the goal themselves.

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What differentiates Taskbase from other AI productivity or EdTech tools?
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Samuel Portmann: Many tools help you complete individual tasks faster. That’s valuable - but speed doesn’t automatically make you better.
We focus on what actually happens in day-to-day business: calls, follow-ups, deals. We analyze what top performers do differently - and why. Then we bring those best practices back into the workflow at exactly the right moment: before a meeting, after a meeting, or directly within the process itself. This way, not only the individual improves - the entire organization learns.
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And most importantly, it doesn’t live in a separate platform. It operates where people already work: in Teams, Slack, or the CRM. Without that integration, real adoption doesn’t happen.

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Our goal is to ensure that best practices don’t stay locked in individual heads - but scale across the entire sales organization.

Why start with sales?
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Samuel Portmann: Because performance in sales is highly measurable. You immediately see whether a deal progresses, whether an objection is handled well, or whether a closing succeeds.
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Sales enablement is a $30 billion market. But even more importantly, it’s the ideal environment to embed coaching directly into daily work. If you understand how to improve performance in sales, you can apply the same model to other business functions.

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Sales is our starting point. If coaching works there, it works anywhere.
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Why was the Micromate acquisition so strategic?
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Samuel Portmann: Adoption determines success. And adoption happens in the workflow. Adding another web app creates friction. Companies operate in ecosystems - Teams, Slack, CRM systems. Micromate already had deep integrations in exactly those environments, plus experience in enterprise rollouts. That was a perfect match - both product-wise and in terms of know-how.
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How has the feedback been since launching the combined product?
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Samuel Portmann: Very strong. Users now receive automatic pre-meeting briefings and structured post-meeting summaries - exactly where they create immediate value. This is not about building a chat tool with a few features. It’s about building a system that understands how people actually work with AI.
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What truly matters to you in investors at this stage?
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Samuel Portmann: As a founder, you’re constantly navigating uncertainty. You receive mixed signals - positive, negative, contradictory. And when things don’t go perfectly, you inevitably ask yourself: What am I actually doing here? In those moments, trust matters most. Not someone who claims to know everything better. But someone who says: The direction is right. You’ll make mistakes - learn from them and keep going.

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You can read about expertise. What’s truly valuable is aligning perspectives, gaining clarity together, and then moving forward with conviction. That’s something I’ve strongly experienced in working with Bloomhaus.
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Where will Taskbase be in three to five years?
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Samuel Portmann: If we become the go-to AI for sales - and if we truly understand how people want to work with AI - then we will have built something really meaningful. It’s not about creating another chat tool with features. It’s about developing a system that understands how people want to integrate AI into their everyday work.

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Many thanks for your time, Samuel!