Jaspar Carmichael-Jack
| Jaspar Carmichael-Jack | |
| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, CEO of Artisan |
| Known for | Co-founding Artisan |
Jaspar Carmichael-Jack is a British entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Artisan, a San Francisco-based software company that develops autonomous AI agents designed to function as digital employees for businesses. The company's first product, an AI business development representative (BDR) named Ava, automates outbound sales workflows. Artisan participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch.[1]
Early life and early ventures
Carmichael-Jack grew up in Surrey, England. He began pursuing business ventures at a young age, and by his late teens had founded Burst Digital, an international branding agency that grew to 15 employees and worked with globally recognised brands.[2] In 2023, at age 21, he founded Assist, an on-demand services venture, before pivoting to the AI space.
Career
Carmichael-Jack co-founded Artisan in 2023 alongside Dr Rupert Dodkins, who holds a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Oxford. Dr Dodkins departed the company in May 2024.[3]
Artisan builds AI agents it calls "Artisans," which are intended to operate as autonomous teammates rather than copilots or assistants. The company's flagship product, Ava, finds and researches sales leads, writes personalised emails, runs outbound sequences, self-optimises performance, and manages email deliverability infrastructure. The platform is designed to replace multiple standalone sales tools with a single working environment where human team members collaborate alongside AI agents.[4]
The company has raised more than $35 million in venture capital funding, including a $25 million Series A round announced in April 2025.[5] As of 2025, Artisan reported over $6 million in annual recurring revenue and counted Remote, Quora, and SumUp among its customers.
Carmichael-Jack attracted significant public attention — and controversy — with Artisan's "Stop Hiring Humans" advertising campaign, which featured billboards and posters in San Francisco and London. He acknowledged the campaign's provocative tone in media interviews, describing it as deliberate "shock value."[6] The campaign generated widespread media coverage and debate about the role of AI in the workplace.
In January 2026, Artisan's account was temporarily banned from LinkedIn, an incident that drew further attention to the company before the account was reinstated.[7]
References
- ↑ "Artisan – Y Combinator". 'Y Combinator}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Founder Story: Jaspar Carmichael-Jack of Artisan.co". 'Frederick AI}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Who is Jaspar Carmichael-Jack? Briton launches 'stop hiring humans' campaign in San Francisco". 'BusinessCloud}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Artisan". 'Artisan}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Artisan, the 'stop hiring humans' AI agent startup, raises $25M — and is still hiring humans". 'TechCrunch}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "'It's just shock value,' says CEO behind 'Stop Hiring Humans' ads". 'KRON4}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Yes, LinkedIn banned AI agent startup Artisan, but now it's back". 'TechCrunch}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.