GovTech startup’s AI-powered platform transforms outdated government hiring systems, enabling faster, fairer recruitment for millions of essential roles.

Holly, an AI-powered platform modernizing government hiring, announced the close of its $2.2 million oversubscribed pre-seed round, led by J2 Ventures with participation from Roble Ventures, Gaingels, and prominent angel investors. The funding will support Holly’s platform as it works to solve the million-job government workforce vacancy crisis.

Holly transforms outdated government hiring systems to accelerate recruitment for 24 million public sector roles. Government hiring currently takes 135 days on average—nearly five times longer than the private sector—and costs taxpayers $86 billion annually in overtime. Through artificial intelligence and intergovernmental data collaboration, Holly modernizes job classifications, streamlines agency workflows, and embeds equity throughout the hiring process.

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“Leading data science teams in government during the COVID-19 pandemic, I witnessed the urgent need for modern tools to enable faster, more equitable hiring,” said Christine Keung, General Partner at J2 Ventures, and former Chief Data Officer for the City of San Jose. “Brendan and Cherie bring both the government experience and entrepreneurial vision to modernize public sector hiring.”

The product stems from the founders’ direct experience in public service and civic technology: Brendan Hellweg scaled a Baltimore City public health initiative from 0 to 275 staff in under a year, earning White House recognition, while Cherie Chung built critical systems and partnerships at Propel, a fintech company serving over 5 million low-income Americans.

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Holly’s platform is already making an impact through a pilot program with the City of Long Beach, California. “This is a big issue, and we’re excited to pilot with Holly to accelerate our class and compensation process,” said Joe Ambrosini, HR Director for Long Beach. “Outdated systems can add months to hiring and drive away top candidates.”

Founded in 2023 while the founders pursued joint degrees at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, Holly plans to expand nationally and is actively recruiting exceptional talent.