Ferhat Kacmaz launches HUNDREDHANDS to put AI employees on customers' desks

Ferhat Kacmaz has launched HUNDREDHANDS, a Dubai-based startup that gives small and midsize businesses an AI employee running on on-site hardware and controlled through WhatsApp. The company is targeting the German-speaking market first, betting that local data control and simple messaging will make AI adoption easier for business owners.

Why it matters: - HUNDREDHANDS is aiming at small and midsize businesses that need help with routine office work but may not want another cloud software subscription. - The startup is positioning on-site AI hardware as a response to common concerns about data control, privacy and trust. - The product targets time-consuming tasks such as offers, invoices, collections, customer requests, social media, research, scheduling, translations and reporting.

What happened: - Ferhat Kacmaz announced HUNDREDHANDS on August 21, 2026. - The Dubai-based startup, found at hundredhands.io, provides AI employees that run on a dedicated mini-computer in the customer's office. - Users control the digital employee entirely through WhatsApp, including by voice message. - The company is starting with a limited number of businesses in the German-speaking market.

The details: - HUNDREDHANDS is built as a physical device that sits on the business owner's desk rather than as a traditional cloud app. - Kacmaz said there is no dashboard, no login and no training required. - The system is designed so entrepreneurs can interact the way they already do with WhatsApp messages. - Kacmaz said keeping the machine in the office keeps contracts, customer lists and invoices in the office. - Each customer device has a layered support system. - Devices can monitor and repair themselves. - HUNDREDHANDS also uses its own AI agents to fix issues before customers notice them. - Customer data is removed before fleet-wide learnings are sent into a central system. - The company says that allows each error to be solved once and shared across customers without exposing private data. - The startup name comes from the Greek mythological Hekatoncheires, giants with one hundred hands. - Kacmaz said the brand reflects the need for productive help rather than advice.

Between the lines: - HUNDREDHANDS is making a bet that many business owners want AI to feel like an employee, not a software platform. - The WhatsApp-first interface is designed to lower the barrier to entry for non-technical users. - The on-premise setup also gives Kacmaz a clearer pitch to companies wary of sending sensitive work into the cloud. - Kacmaz said he first built the digital employee for his own companies before deciding to commercialize it. - He also framed the launch as a response to demand from other entrepreneurs who wanted the same system.

What's next: - HUNDREDHANDS will begin with a limited rollout in the German-speaking region. - The company is promoting its launch through an interview Kacmaz gave to Business Street Magazine on August 20, 2026, titled "Where one AI equals a hundred hands". - Kacmaz said that within three years, it may feel unusual for a company with 20 employees not to have a digital colleague. - The company says its website is available in five languages.

The bottom line: - HUNDREDHANDS is trying to make enterprise AI feel less like software and more like a staffed office assistant, with the hardware and WhatsApp interface as the main sales pitch.