From university classrooms to their own AI startup. The Faculty of Information Technology at the Czech Technical University in Prague (FIT CTU) has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the startup Whisper, founded by its graduates, MSc. Vojtěch Paukner and MSc. Martin Kučera. Today, the company consists exclusively of current students and alumni of the faculty and develops AI tools for automating operational processes in e-commerce.
The memorandum builds on FIT CTU’s long-term efforts to support the creation of technology startups, helping students and graduates transform their ideas into real businesses. The faculty enters into such partnerships to connect academia with industry and create opportunities for the development of innovative technology projects.
“At FIT CTU, we have long supported students and graduates in turning their ideas into practical solutions. Whisper is an excellent example of a project built on a foundation of high-quality technical education and the determination of our students. It has successfully found practical applications for modern artificial intelligence in real business environments,” says Ing. Jakub Novák, Vice-Dean for Industry Cooperation.
The startup Whisper was founded with the vision of building an AI operating system for e-commerce. Its goal is to automate the day-to-day operations of online stores—from customer communication and order management to internal processes between e-shops, suppliers, and logistics providers.
The first step toward this vision is the concept of an “AI customer journey,” providing intelligent support to customers throughout the purchasing process. Whisper is developing an AI expert assistant that has a deep understanding of a specific e-shop’s products, including technical documentation, manuals, and warranty or return policies. As a result, it can provide customers with accurate answers, recommend suitable products, and help merchants automate customer support.
“We want to bring artificial intelligence into real business processes and solve the everyday challenges faced by e-commerce operators. Our goal is to gradually automate an ever-larger portion of operations so that one day Whisper becomes the autonomous control center of e-commerce,” says Vojtěch Paukner, co-founder of the startup.
In addition to chatbots, Whisper’s technology currently supports email communication and automates tasks related to order management, such as changing delivery addresses and handling customer requests. The startup is also developing AI-powered search capabilities for e-commerce stores, enabling active assistance with product selection based on context and follow-up questions.
FIT CTU has long maintained close cooperation with industry partners on research, innovation, and educational projects. Its partnership program focuses not only on supporting joint initiatives and technological development but also on strengthening partners’ visibility within academia and beyond through media exposure and outreach activities. The collaboration also helps connect companies with students and graduates through initiatives such as COFIT, the faculty’s annual career fair, which provides a platform for talented individuals to meet technology companies. Student startups are also given the opportunity to exhibit with their own booths, recruit new team members, and inspire other students to launch their own ventures.
