Stealth Startup Grouphug Taps into WhatsApp

Introduction Of Grouphug

A trio of seasoned European entrepreneurs is quietly building something new behind the scenes—though they’re giving the public a first taste of what’s to come. Grouphug, a startup still in stealth mode, has unveiled a light-hearted beta tool that turns group WhatsApp chats into memes. But don’t let the playful launch fool you—this is just the surface of a deeper, AI-powered vision.

Grouphug is the latest project from Felix Petersen, a well-known name in Europe’s consumer app scene thanks to his past work on Plazes and Amen. Joining him are Joseph Djenandji, the founder behind travel brand LostIn, and AI specialist Matthew Balazsi, whose career spans a decade of machine learning work.

At the moment, the app’s functionality is deliberately simple: users export chat histories from WhatsApp groups and receive automatically generated memes based on the conversation. It’s fun, easy to try, and designed to start building a beta user base—but the founders have bigger ambitions.

Speaking with TechCrunch, Petersen teased It’s broader goals: “We think we’ve cracked AI humor. For now, Grouphug will create jokes based on what happened in the group. But then we have other plans for it.”

The real opportunity, Petersen suggests, lies in the massive, untapped troves of private conversations happening in group chats every day. Unlike platforms like Reddit or X, WhatsApp is a closed ecosystem, largely invisible to the public web. It sees this as fertile ground for innovation, particularly through generative AI.

The company has already secured €1.5 million (about $1.7 million) in pre-seed funding. Berlin-based Blueyard VC led the round, with participation from Tiny VC, Atlantic Labs, Charles Songhurst (a Meta board member), and others.

With AI at its core and a uniquely private data source in its sights, It is quietly positioning itself to reimagine how we interact with—and extract value from—our group chats.

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