London-based Wassist raises $1.1 million pre-seed round led by Playfair to make WhatsApp commerce accessible without engineering teams
Founder Josh Warwick built the product during weekend hackathons, growing usage from 2,000 to 80,000 customer conversations without paid marketing
The startup lets brands deploy AI-powered WhatsApp agents that answer questions, recover carts, recommend products, and complete purchases inside chat
For years, businesses have chased customers across email, search, social media, and paid advertising. Yet despite billions spent on customer acquisition, engagement rates continue to decline. Meanwhile, a different channel has quietly become the default way billions of people communicate.
London-based startup Wassist believes WhatsApp is about to become the next major commerce platform. The company has raised a $1.1 million pre-seed round led by Playfair, with participation from Indeed founder Paul Forster, Meta board member Charlie Songhurst, Cleo founder Barney Hussey-Yeo, and angels from Balderton Capital and Dawn Capital.
