Handshake Solutions

Handshake (Handshake Solutions Ltd) develops an AI-powered "intelligent agreement platform" used by retailers and their suppliers to create, negotiate, track and execute commercial agreements end-to-end. The platform covers agreement types found in retail trading and buying, including joint business plans (JBPs), cost prices and cost price increases, promotions, overriders, retail media, markdown funding, own-brand tenders, payment terms, shelf space and commodity trackers. Workflows are organised around three stages — make (receiving and assessing supplier proposals and collaborating on them), track and execute — with approval chains running from draft through negotiation and approval to signed agreements.

The company positions the product against the manual tooling used in retail buying today: fragmented spreadsheets, email chains, siloed legacy enterprise systems and informal arrangements. Company and press materials state that fewer than 50% of suppliers maintain formal written agreements with the retailers they supply, and that retailers face inflation, cost volatility, margin compression and regulatory compliance pressure. Stated benefits include direct margin benefit and reduced leakage of deal value, process simplification and automation, and productivity gains from a natural-language assistant that can, for example, launch annual JBP agreements with top suppliers, surface pending cost price increases or forecast promotional spend. The platform supports launching programmes across hundreds of suppliers at once.

Handshake was co-founded by Alex Lindsay (CEO) and Peter Welch (CTO), who describe the aim as building an "AI-native operating system for retail buying" that gives retailers and suppliers visibility, structure and accountability.

Founding story

Handshake was co-founded by Alex Lindsay (CEO) and Peter Welch (CTO), who cite the difficulty of retail buying work and the sector's structural headwinds as the reason for building a platform to reimagine how retailers and suppliers reach and manage agreements.

Business model

Handshake supplies software to enterprise retailers and their supplier bases; the platform is used by retailers' commercial, buying and merchandising teams and by suppliers submitting and agreeing proposals. Specific pricing or contracting terms are not disclosed in available sources.

Not disclosed in available sources.

Traction

Gopuff is a named customer, with its Director of Merchandising Strategy and Supplier Relations describing use of the platform to manage contracts, agreements and joint business plans across hundreds of supplier partnerships. Additional testimonials are attributed to unnamed international, UK and premium grocers and an international cooperative. The company raised a $3.2 million round announced 1 June 2026.

Latest developments

On 1 June 2026 Handshake announced a $3.2 million funding round led by Triple Point Ventures, with Future Back Ventures by Bain & Company, Octopus Ventures and other retail technology investors participating, to scale its AI-native retail buying platform.