AI Startup Aims to Replace Every Human in the Workforce
Approximately 92% of companies plan to invest more money into AI integration over the next few years, according to McKinsey research. And if the new startup Mechanize has its way, companies might see the entire global workforce replaced by next-gen AI sooner rather than later.
What is Mechanize?
Founded in April 2025 by well-known AI researcher Tamay Besiroglu, Mechanize is one of the latest AI startups to tackle the issue of workforce automation. Unlike its predecessors, Mechanize is trying to automate the entire global workforce.
While the team at Mechanize highlights the benefits of transitioning to an all-AI workforce, they’re also aware of the shortcomings of the current types of AI models — including unreliability, inefficiency with long-form content, and challenges with multimodality. Mechanize plans to overcome these limitations by training its large language models on real-world work simulations.
Besiroglu and his team claim their efforts will lead to significant economic growth. According to them, complete automation of the modern workforce could lead to improved standards of living and even the production of brand new goods and services. It would also help companies around the world cut costs by eliminating the need for employee payroll expenses.
The landing page on Mechanize’s current website reads, in part: “The market potential here is absurdly large: workers in the US are paid around $18 trillion per year in aggregate. For the entire world, the number is over three times greater, around $60 trillion per year.”
Drowning out the negative response
As expected, the launch of Mechanize is controversial. While some praise Besiroglu, particularly for his work as associate director with Epoch.ai, negative reactions on social media currently outweigh positive ones. But that isn’t stopping Besiroglu and his team from moving forward.
Instead, Besiroglu is doubling down on his claims that Mechanize will elevate the economy. When asked how humans will survive in the absence of a regular paycheck, Besiroglu told TechCrunch that wages aren’t the only determination of a strong economy. He also suggested that most people would be able to make a living from other income sources, including government welfare programs.
Understanding the mission behind Mechanize
The team behind Mechanize faces an uphill battle. Besiroglu plans to start small by focusing solely on white collar jobs at first. But his idea of using AI agents to automate the entire global workforce remains the ultimate goal of the new startup and, according to all of his communication thus far, he is dedicated to seeing it through.
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