MetisAI was founded in 2025, inspired by Rod’s experience shopping for a coffee machine on an online store. He wanted to ask questions about how to use the machine, but when he tried contacting the WhatsApp number provided on the website, he received no response—it was already 8 p.m. This led him to wonder: why isn’t there a 24/7 AI-powered sales assistant to guide shoppers?

Rod realized that countless online shoppers likely faced the same problem: a lack of real-time assistance when they needed it most, particularly outside regular hours. What if there was a way to bring the instant, helpful support of an in-store sales assistant to the world of e-commerce?

To tackle this issue, he teamed up with his best friend and fellow engineer, Chao, to create MetisAI, a 24/7 AI-powered sales assistant designed for social apps.