TNBizBot
Tennessee Business Gateway AI Agent
RFI Response #31701-03814
State of Tennessee Department of State & Local Services
December 10, 2025
The Challenge
Tennessee entrepreneurs face a complex, fragmented registration process across 6 state agencies
- 3-5 hours navigating multiple agency websites
- 45% abandonment rate due to complexity
- Duplicate data entry across agencies
- No guidance or progress tracking
- Language barriers for non-English speakers
- Lost revenue from incomplete registrations
Our Solution: TNBizBot
AI-powered avatar assistant providing guided business registration in under 30 minutes
- Conversational AI avatar (HeyGen Avatar IV)
- Bilingual support (English + Spanish)
- Single conversation replaces 6 websites
- One-time data entry across all agencies
- Real-time progress dashboard
- Working MVP: LLC registration demo
Return on Investment: 26:1
30,000
Hours Saved
Annually
4,000
Additional Businesses
Registered
First-Year Cost: $770,000 | Annual Benefit: $20,000,000 | ROI: 26:1
North Highland Adaptive Process Orchestration Platform
8 integrated components for comprehensive business process automation
1. Process Management
Camunda BPMN workflow orchestration for 6-step registration
2. Task Management
Work item tracking, user timelines, automated notifications
3. Decision Management
OPA policy engine and DMN for regulatory rules
4. Authority Management
RBAC and multi-agency permissions
5. Identity Management
SAML 2.0/OAuth 2.0 integration with TN.gov
6. Knowledge Management
Graph-native knowledge graph with semantic search and integrated data layers
7. Observability
Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, Phoenix AI monitoring
8. GRC Framework
214-control framework for AI governance and security
Enterprise Architecture - Capability View
Modern capability-based architecture aligned with EA principles
Foundation Capabilities
Identity Management • SAML 2.0/OAuth integration with TN.gov
Authority Management • RBAC and multi-agency permissions
Core Capabilities
Process Management • Camunda BPMN orchestration
Task Management • Work item tracking and notifications
Decision Management • OPA policy engine and DMN rules
⭐ Knowledge Management - Graph-Native Implementation
Knowledge Graph (Neo4j) • Semantic relationships & regulatory understanding
Vector Search (pgvector) • Natural language policy search
Relational Data (PostgreSQL) • Transactional consistency
Document Store (MinIO) • Scalable content management
Cross-Cutting Capabilities
Observability • Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, Phoenix AI
GRC Framework • 214-control governance and compliance
Knowledge Graph architecture aligns with EA principles: relationship-driven insights enable regulatory traceability, compliance chains, and explainable AI
Industry Validation: Forrester & Gartner
North Highland: First-Mover in Emerging APO Market
Forrester Research
Adaptive Process Orchestration (APO)
- NEW Market Category announced 2025
- First APO Landscape Report: Q2 2026
- Forrester Wave™ Evaluation: Late 2026
- Definition: "AI agents + nondeterministic control flows + traditional workflows"
North Highland Platform Deployed in 2025
BEFORE Market Evaluation
Gartner
BOAT Platform
- BOAT: Business Orchestration & Automation Technologies
- Market Size: $1.04T by 2026 (11.9% CAGR)
- Convergence: RPA + BPA + iPaaS unified platform
- Core: "Hinged upon process orchestration"
NH Platform Meets ALL
BOAT Requirements
🏆 Tennessee: First-Mover in Next-Gen Automation | Potential 2026 Forrester Wave Reference Customer
TNBizBot AI Capabilities
Conversational Interface
- HeyGen Avatar IV professional persona
- Warm, approachable Tennessee official
- Video responses in real-time
- Natural conversation flow
Intelligent Understanding
- OpenAI GPT-4 language processing
- Intent recognition and context awareness
- Knowledge graph semantic search
- Remembers conversation history
Multilingual Support: English and Spanish (Phase 1) with architecture supporting Mandarin, Arabic, and French expansion
6-Step Business Registration Workflow
Step 1
Name Search & Reservation (TN Secretary of State)
Step 2
Business Structure Registration (LLC, Corp, Partnership)
Step 3
Federal EIN Application (IRS integration)
Step 4
State Tax Registration (TN Department of Revenue)
Step 5
Unemployment Insurance (TN Labor & Workforce)
Step 6
Professional Licenses & Permits (Commerce & Insurance)
Data entered once flows automatically across all six steps and agencies
"No Wrong Door" Capability
TNBizBot handles questions beyond business registration, routing to appropriate agencies
Example Scenarios
- "How do I renew my contractor license?"
- "I need a food service permit"
- "Can I change my business structure?"
- "What permits do I need for construction?"
Intelligent Routing
- Identifies responsible agency
- Provides regulation context
- Generates required forms
- Tracks multi-agency processes
Extensibility: Architecture designed to scale from business registration to 100+ Tennessee government services
MVP Demo: LLC Registration
Technology Stack
- Frontend: React 18 + HeyGen Avatar IV
- Backend: Python Flask + OpenAI GPT-4
- Workflow: Camunda BPM 7.20
- Graph: Neo4j 5.15 (TN regulations)
- Database: PostgreSQL 16 + Redis 7
- Storage: MinIO (S3-compatible)
Demo Capabilities
- Working avatar conversation
- English + Spanish language switching
- 6-step progress tracking
- Document generation (mock PDFs)
- One-time data entry
- Complete in under 5 minutes
Demo Status: Functional MVP ready for live demonstration
4-Layer Knowledge Base Architecture
Neo4j Knowledge Graph
Tennessee regulations, agencies, forms, and relationships mapped as connected graph. Enables "explain why" and "show me related" capabilities.
pgvector Semantic Search
Vector embeddings for natural language search across regulations and policies. Powers "find similar requirements" functionality.
PostgreSQL Operational Data
Users, applications, sessions, audit logs. Transactional consistency for business operations.
MinIO Document Store
S3-compatible storage for certificates, forms, PDFs. Scalable document content management.
Graph-based architecture enables TNBizBot to explain regulations, trace requirements, and guide entrepreneurs through complex decision trees
Data, Analytics & AI Governance Platform
Major Differentiator: Comprehensive 214-control framework addressing security, AI governance, and regulatory compliance
143
NIST 800-53
Security Controls
8
Project Delivery
Controls
Proven framework from North Highland's Rhode Island Health & Human Services AI Center of Excellence, adapted for Tennessee business services
Governance Framework Components
NIST 800-53 Controls (143)
- Access Control (26 controls)
- Audit & Accountability (14)
- Security Assessment (9)
- Configuration Management (18)
- Contingency Planning (13)
- Identity & Authentication (15)
- System & Communications Protection (46)
- 10 additional control families
AI Governance Controls (63)
- Governance & Accountability
- Regulatory Oversight
- Third-Party Management
- Risk Management
- Lifecycle Management
- Security & Privacy
- Bias Detection & Fairness
- Explainability & Transparency
AI Governance Leadership Structure
- AI Governance Board: Executive oversight with agency representation
- Roles & Responsibilities: RACI matrices for decision-making and escalation
- Risk Classification: Framework for categorizing AI systems by risk level
- Bias Detection: Continuous monitoring for fairness and discrimination
- Explainability: All AI decisions include reasoning and audit trails
- Lifecycle Management: Controls from development through decommissioning
- Regulatory Compliance: NIST AI RMF, accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), privacy laws
Complete governance program with policies, procedures, training, and continuous improvement processes
Phoenix AI Observability
AI Governance Automation - Not Just Monitoring
Real-Time AI Tracing
- OpenAI GPT-4: Every prompt, response, token count
- HeyGen Avatar: Video generation metrics
- Neo4j Queries: Regulatory knowledge retrieval
- Complete Audit Trails: 100% AI decision traceability
Automated Governance
- Bias Detection: Language parity monitoring (0.95 ratio)
- Fairness Metrics: Completion rate parity (0.98 ratio)
- PII Redaction: Automatic sensitive data protection
- Cost Tracking: Real-time token and video costs
Compliance Validation
- 214 Controls: Automated compliance reporting
- Zero Violations: Continuous validation
- NIST AI RMF: Full framework implementation
- WCAG 2.1 AA: Accessibility compliance
Operational Excellence
- E2E Test Harness: 14 automated governance tests
- Fixture Automation: One-command operational state
- Smoke Tests: Continuous health validation
- CI/CD Ready: Automated testing pipeline
Industry First: Only state AI platform with Phoenix observability integrated from day one—complete with automated testing and operational readiness
Security & Compliance
Security Controls
- Data encryption (at rest and in transit)
- Multi-factor authentication
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Audit logging (all actions tracked)
- Incident response procedures
- Vulnerability scanning
Compliance & Monitoring
- SOC 2 Type II certification
- FedRAMP equivalent controls
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility
- Phoenix AI observability
- Prometheus metrics + Grafana dashboards
- Loki log aggregation
Target SLA: 99.9% uptime with comprehensive monitoring and alerting
Implementation Timeline
MVP Phase
2-3 weeks: LLC registration demo deployment (already built)
Phase 1
3 months: Real agency API integrations, payment processing, authentication, email notifications
Phase 2
3 months: All business structures (Corp, Partnership, Sole Prop), additional agency integrations
Phase 3
Ongoing: Additional languages, extended services, "No Wrong Door" expansion to 100+ services
Total Time to Full Production: 6 months from contract award to complete business registration platform
Target Outcomes
85%
Completion Rate
(vs. 55% today)
<30min
Average Time
(vs. 3-5 hours)
- System Uptime: 99.9% SLA with real-time monitoring
- Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all interfaces
- User Satisfaction: 90%+ satisfaction rate
- Spanish Adoption: 15%+ of users in first year
- Error Reduction: 80%+ reduction in data entry errors
Why North Highland
- Proven Platform: Adaptive Process Orchestration Platform powering multiple state government implementations
- Comprehensive Governance: 214-control framework addressing security, AI governance, and compliance
- Working Demo: Functional LLC registration MVP demonstrates rapid delivery capability
- Government Expertise: Deep domain knowledge in multi-agency coordination and regulatory compliance
- Track Record: Successful state government AI implementations with measurable ROI
- Rapid Deployment: 2-3 weeks to MVP, 6 months to full production
- Risk Mitigation: Proven technology stack reduces implementation risk
Investment & Pricing
Initial Implementation
- Platform deployment & configuration
- Agency API integrations (6 agencies)
- Knowledge graph development
- Avatar training & customization
- Security & compliance setup
- Staff training & documentation
One-time: $770,000
Annual Operations
- Azure Gov Cloud hosting
- 24/7 support & monitoring
- Security updates & patches
- Continuous improvement
- Governance program maintenance
- Performance optimization
Annual: $180,000
Year 1 Total: $950,000 | Annual Benefit: $20M | ROI: 21:1 (first year), 111:1 (five years)
Team Structure
Core Team
- Project Manager: Delivery oversight and stakeholder management
- Solution Architect: Platform design and agency integration
- AI/ML Lead: Conversational AI and avatar development
- Governance Lead: AI governance and compliance framework
Technical Team
- UX Designer: User experience and accessibility
- Security Engineer: Security controls and monitoring
- DevOps Engineer: Infrastructure and deployment
- QA Lead: Testing and quality assurance
All team members have state government experience and active security clearances
Next Steps
Step 1
Live demo of working LLC registration MVP
Step 2
Technical deep-dive sessions with TN IT and agency stakeholders
Step 3
Security and compliance review with Tennessee team
Step 4
Detailed implementation plan with milestones and deliverables
Step 5
Contract execution and deployment kickoff
Contact: Ready to schedule demo and answer questions
TNBizBot
Transforming Tennessee Business Registration
Vision to Value
North Highland
December 10, 2025