Murmuratto, a workflow automation startup co-founded by David Pagan ’15, was selected as one of 86 companies showcased at Venture Atlanta, a major startup and investor conference, in October 2025.
The annual conference, now in its 18th year, drew a record 1,600 attendees, including over 400 investors, to the Woodruff Arts Center and Atlanta Symphony Hall. Organizers reviewed more than 560 applications, ultimately selecting 85 companies across 19 sectors to participate, according to Venture Atlanta 2025 Recap.
Pagan, who graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture, co-founded Murmuratto in 2022. The company develops software that allows workers to report issues, inefficiencies and ideas from the production floor. It then uses artificial intelligence to sort through that information and identify patterns, helping companies address problems more quickly and improve day-to-day operations.
The idea for the company grew out of Pagan’s early professional experience working with operations teams abroad. While leading initiatives, he noticed that many frontline workers understood how to solve problems and tap into opportunities within their role but often lacked a clear path to communicate those insights to leadership.
“I realized that even though the team often said we could not do something, when I asked the right questions we could actually find solutions,” Pagan said in an interview with The Sun. “The people often knew the answers, but leaders were not always asking the right questions to the right people.”
Murmuratto’s platform allows workers to submit observations about operational challenges, safety concerns or inefficiencies through a digital interface. AI tools then help structure those observations into proposals that managers can review and potentially implement.
Rather than replacing workers, Pagan said the company’s goal is to amplify their role in improving operations.
“When you read about AI and productivity in the workplace, you inevitably come across AI layoffs,” Pagan said. “Our approach is different. We want to create ‘super workers’ who continuously identify problems and solutions that improve the business.”
The company currently works with manufacturing sites across five U.S. states, focusing primarily on highly regulated industries such as pharmaceutical and biotechnology production. In these environments, operational changes must meet strict compliance standards, which can make process improvements difficult to implement.
According to Pagan, insights submitted by frontline workers can sometimes lead to significant financial or operational gains.
In one example, a worker in a biopharma manufacturing facility noticed that staff members were using a costly, regulated chemical to clean minor spills such as water or juice. After the observation was submitted through Murmuratto and reviewed by management, the facility changed its cleaning procedures, resulting in approximately $50,000 in recurring annual savings.
“That one observation from a frontline worker resulted in $50,000 of savings year after year,” Pagan said. “In manufacturing, a small change can make a very large impact.”
Pagan said designing technology for frontline workers posed challenges beyond building the software itself. The platform had to be accessible to workers across different generations and levels of technological experience.
“We needed to make it very easy to use, but at the same time capture a lot of data,” Pagan said. “That meant designing a system that works for younger employees and for people with decades of experience.”
Selection for Venture Atlanta offered validation for the company’s growth and visibility within the startup ecosystem, Pagan said. The conference brings together hundreds of investors and industry leaders, giving selected companies the opportunity to gain exposure and connect with potential funders.
“Getting selected as a showcase company confirmed that we have the right product for the right industry at the right time,” he said.
The recognition comes as Murmuratto continues expanding its work with manufacturing sites across the United States. Pagan said the company is focused on growing its team and bringing the platform to more facilities in the coming years.
“We are just getting started,” Pagan said.
