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Maxwell
Techstars '23Omaha, US · 7 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
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Maxwell is an AI-powered employee experience platform that unifies HR systems and total rewards management, allowing companies to launch stipends, rewards programs, and personalized benefits for their workforce. The platform serves HR leaders, small business owners, and benefit brokers seeking to improve employee engagement and ROI.
Also known as Maxwell (maxwell.app)
Investors · 2
How we know: Invest Nebraska's portfolio page · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeries BMar 2021Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Maxwell is an Omaha, Nebraska-based employee benefits and total rewards company that operates an "experience layer" on top of a customer's existing HR stack rather than replacing it. The platform connects to more than 60 HRIS, payroll and talent tools — including UKG, Workday, Paylocity and Employee Navigator — and consolidates benefits, lifestyle spending and employee communications into a single mobile-first app.
The product spans four areas: unifying existing HR systems and onboarding workflows into one employee hub; healthcare funding options including traditional group plan navigation, ICHRA administration (with plan shopping handled by a partner) and subscription primary care; rewards delivery through lifestyle spending accounts, wellness stipends, travel allowances, spot bonuses and milestone awards funded as cash into a proprietary digital wallet spendable via the Maxwell Card Visa or reimbursement; and an AI HR assistant, "Max," trained on company-specific policies that answers routine employee questions 24/7 in multiple languages. Earlier descriptions of the product cite a mobile app, a marketplace of pre-vetted vendors and a debit card, with employers funding monthly per-employee budgets in the $30–$200 range.
Business model
B2B software sold to employers, positioned as an add-on layer to incumbent HR systems. The company states there are no platform or implementation fees and no long-term lock-ins, with customers paying based on the funds they deploy through the platform.
Marketed with zero platform and implementation fees; customers "pay only for the funds you deploy," indicating revenue tied to the value of stipends, rewards and benefits funded through the platform rather than per-seat licensing.
Traction
As of April 2023 the company reported having a shipping product and customers, and was in the middle of releasing the next version of its platform. The website states the platform integrates with 60+ HR tools and claims resolution of up to 80% of routine employee HR questions.
Latest developments
After graduating from Techstars Boulder in April 2023, Maxwell focused on raising a pre-seed round to grow its team and scale the product. The current product line-up includes ICHRA support, subscription primary care, lifestyle spending accounts and the "Max" AI HR assistant.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
An early-stage HR technology and fintech company; a Techstars investment associate described the team as operating across the FinTech and HRTech landscape. The company's site cites being backed by Google and a SHRM Global Award for HR Tech Innovation.
Positions against rip-and-replace HR suites and points-based recognition catalogs: Maxwell layers on top of existing payroll and HRIS, delivers cash-equivalent value into a wallet and Visa card instead of points, and personalizes stipend usage and onboarding flows per employee. It claims resolution of up to 80% of routine HR tickets via its AI assistant.
Technology
An integration layer connecting 60+ HR, payroll and talent systems, combined with a proprietary digital wallet and a Visa-branded card for disbursing funds. An AI assistant ("Max") is trained on each employer's policies and benefits to resolve routine HR questions and convert employee queries into sentiment data. The company describes its engine as combining AI with behavioral economics, and delivers a native mobile experience aimed at deskless and field workers.
Go-to-market
Direct sales led by custom demo requests from the company website, supported by dedicated onboarding and training, low-friction pricing (no implementation fees or lock-ins), and integration with the HR systems customers already use.
Employers seeking to modernize benefits without replacing their HRIS, including small and midsize organizations without large HR departments, fast-growing companies standardizing onboarding, and organizations with deskless or field workforces. Following the Techstars program, the company selected healthcare organizations as its initial beachhead market.
Geography
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska; participated in the Techstars Boulder accelerator in Colorado, with a customer and mentor network spanning North America.
History
Maxwell was co-founded by Adriana Cisneros Basulto (CEO) and Stephen Enke, with Jon Rhoades as technical lead. By early 2023 the company had a shipping product and paying customers when it was recruited by a Techstars scout. It was selected from roughly 1,200 applicants for the 13-week Techstars Boulder Winter 2023 cohort — one of 12 companies chosen across North America and only the third Nebraska startup ever to complete a Techstars accelerator — graduating at demo day on April 7, 2023. The founders credited the program with pushing them to choose healthcare organizations as a beachhead market, after which the company turned to raising a pre-seed round to expand headcount and scale the product.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 3
Companies working in the same space as Maxwell.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsMaxwell completed the 13-week Techstars Boulder Winter '23 cohort, selected from about 1,200 applicants and one of 12 companies chosen across North America; it was the third Nebraska startup ever to complete a Techstars accelerator. The cohort concluded with demo day on April 7, 2023.
Following the Techstars program, Maxwell narrowed its go-to-market focus to healthcare employers to tailor its product and sales strategy.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Maxwellmaxwell.app · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Maxwell do?
- Maxwell is an AI-driven total rewards and employee experience layer that sits on top of existing HRIS and payroll systems.
- Who are Maxwell's investors?
- Maxwell's investors include Invest Nebraska, Techstars.
- Where is Maxwell headquartered?
- Maxwell is headquartered in Omaha, US.