Matija Šošić never expected web app development to feel like piecing together a puzzle. Yet, when he first started building full-stack applications, that’s exactly what it felt like—fragmented, clunky, and far more complicated than it needed to be.
Every part of the stack seemed to live in its own world. One tool for the frontend, another for the backend, something else entirely for database management. Connecting it all, and making sure the system was secure and scalable, turned into an exercise in frustration.
Rather than just deal with the status quo, Matija teamed up with his twin brother, Martin, who’d faced similar hurdles in his own developer journey. The duo launched Wasp in 2021 with a simple but powerful mission: make full-stack web development easier by connecting the tools developers already love—without forcing them to learn an entirely new framework.
At its core, Wasp acts like the connective tissue between platforms like React, Node.js, and Prisma. Instead of replacing these tools, it stitches them together into a single, production-ready app. But it doesn’t stop there. Wasp also flags common issues, like missing API keys or misconfigured routes, and suggests code changes to avoid headaches down the line.
That’s especially useful in a time when no-code and AI-powered coding tools are lowering the barrier to entry for non-developers. While this shift has democratized app building, Matija points out that “vibe coding doesn’t work for enterprise.” Wasp bridges that gap, helping new developers build secure and scalable full-stack apps without cutting corners.
The platform is open source and can deploy either to the public cloud or an enterprise server. Importantly, it doesn’t require users to adopt a new language or workflow. Instead, Wasp works as a layer on top of existing dev stacks—meaning developers can keep using the tools they already know.
Wasp’s quiet rise through the ranks has been impressive. After going through Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 batch, the team rolled out a public beta in 2023. Since then, they’ve attracted over 26,000 GitHub stars and started working with both startups and Fortune 500 companies.
To support its growth, Wasp recently closed a $3.7 million funding round led by HV Capital. Other backers include Fifth Quarter Ventures, Big Bets, and Metis Ventures. Notably, the round also attracted individual investors like Ant Wilson, co-founder and CTO of Supabase, and Søren Bramer Schmidt, CEO of Prisma. This new capital follows a $1.5 million seed round raised back in 2021, bringing Wasp’s total funding to $5.2 million.
Matija says this gives the company breathing room to focus on what’s next. That includes pushing the platform to its long-awaited 1.0 release. The upcoming version will feature key upgrades, such as server-side rendering and multilingual support—features that Wasp’s growing community has consistently asked for.
“For us, it’s still all about the core,” Matija said. “Open source Wasp is the foundation. And after four years of listening to developers, we now know exactly what we need to build.”
