A Nigerian engineer has launched Dayroom, an AI-native workspace that goes head-to-head with Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat. Oluwafikayomi Gideon Adeleke built it alone in three to four weeks, with no outside funding.
The product, announced on X, has since drawn more than 100 signups and 100 workspaces across 11 countries.
Oluwafikayomi describes himself as a software and machine learning engineer and a first-class graduate of Insurance and Actuarial Science from the University of Lagos. He says he has worked on large language models, AI agents and the evaluation of AI coding agents.
Meet Dayroom and learn what it can do
Dayroom is built as a virtual office. Members can see who is around, who is busy and who is free to chat, then start a call from inside a room. Each person builds an avatar, and the options on the site include gele, kufi, ankara and kente.
An AI companion sits on top. It summarises what a user missed, and Oluwafikayomi wants it to eventually handle routine tasks. The virtual office runs on OpenAI and Google Gemini.
“I didn’t want to build another messaging application and just attach an AI chatbot to it,” he told Technext. The idea, he said, came from workplace conversations scattered across WhatsApp, Slack and email.
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Slack gets a rival from Lagos
Oluwafikayomi does not pretend the giants are not his target. “We’re entering the same market, and I don’t think there’s any reason to pretend otherwise,” he said.
His edge, he argues, is AI built into the foundation, plus a way in for teams that already live on WhatsApp. Dayroom can import WhatsApp conversation histories, so those teams do not start from zero.
He is also modest about where things stand. “I wouldn’t claim that Dayroom already does everything better than Slack or Microsoft Teams. We are still very early,” he said.
The free plan does not expire. It covers messages, direct conversations and up to three rooms per workspace.
The paid plan costs ₦7,500 or $5 per member monthly, or ₦72,000 or $48 per member annually. It unlocks more rooms, voice calls, AI features, automations and meeting notes. Subscriptions are prepaid with no automatic renewal, and teams whose access lapses keep their history.
Limits apply too. Workspaces hold up to 20 members, uploads are capped at 10 MB, and calls take up to six participants.
What teams should know before signing up
Dayroom is candid about its early state. Its terms call the service an evaluation and warn users not to upload confidential material such as client files or health records.
Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. “Messages are not currently end-to-end encrypted,” Oluwafikayomi confirmed. He said features such as search and AI assistance need server-side access to content.
Data is encrypted at rest on a database hosted on Fly.io in Amsterdam, he revealed. Dayroom is not yet registered with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), though he says it is working towards registration. Users can request account deletion by email, and he says the handling of backups and third-party services is still being strengthened.
On the desktop, Oluwafikayomi says Mac and Windows apps can already be downloaded, though they still await Apple and Microsoft verification.
Next, he plans to hire engineers, expand voice calls and add integrations. The harder test is retention. “Now the challenge is turning that curiosity into lasting adoption,” he said.
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