From computer vision-driven technologies aimed at cutting down on apparel returns by enabling consumers to utilize advanced sizing tech to artificial intelligence and machine learning-driven software that helps to prevent counterfeiting, piracy, and digital impersonators, companies across the retail segment are introducing new tools that make fashion commerce – and retail more broadly – “more nimble, sustainable, and engaging for shoppers.” At the same time, the striking rise of e-commerce, especially in the wake of the pandemic, and the post-pandemic call for companies to provide consumers with “an exponentially deeper level of engagement [both] online and offline,” per McKinsey, has led to the rise of an array of B2B SaaS solutions-providers that are looking to help transform the retail segment.
Research published by Google’s Cloud business in November 2020 (and reported by Wired) revealed that retailers were “looking to use AI within ten different areas of their business – from demand prediction to customer loyalty schemes and product personalization.” More recently, McKinsey stated in 2021 that “the operational potential of technology is becoming ever more apparent,” with fashion companies that embed AI into their businesses models now – in order to “enable new logistics and sales-fulfillment options (such as click-and-collect and drive-through), fuel innovative ways of customer acquisition, help predict and manage inventory to create a more resilient supply chain,” etc. – standing to see “a 118 percent cumulative increase in cash flow by 2030.” On the other hand, the consultancy stated that companies that “are slower to invest in digital technology will lag behind, and could see a 23 percent relative decline.”
Meanwhile, Meticulous Research expects the value of the AI-in-retail market, alone, to reach $19 billion by 2027.
Against this background and in light of enduring efforts to bring new tech to the retail market, we have compiled a tracker of funding and M&A to provide a broad overview of tech-centric investments in fashion and the broader retail space, and shed light on what the trajectory of this segment of the market looks like more broadly.
Feb. 29, 2024 – Tracksuit Raises $13.5M in Series A
Tracksuit has raised $13.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Altos Ventures and Footwork with participation from Lenny Rachitsky, Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown and Frank Body co-founder Bree Johnson, as well as existing investors Blackbird, Icehouse Ventures, Ascential and Shasta Ventures. The New Zealand-based brand marketing data and market research company – which counts Athletic Brewing, Steve Madden, Opendoor, AWAY Luggage, Momofuku, Skillshare, Care/Of, Hexclad, Bread & Butter Wines, Ollie Pet, MyFitnessPal, Supergoop!, and LolaVie as clients – will use the new funds to support its expansion in the UK and the U.S. this year. The company’s founder and CEO Connor Archbold said, “Our goal with Tracksuit was to improve upon the traditional market research model by making it much easier to understand and way more affordable — reshaping the future of marketing and market research.”
Feb. 28, 2024 – Bandicoot Imaging Sciences Raises AU$1M in Pre-Seed
Bandicoot Imaging Sciences has raised AU$1 million in a Pre-Seed round led by Hong Kong VC qonvolv Ventures and included Precision Textiles and Mou Fung Ltd., as well as previous investor, NewSouth Innovations from UNSW. The Sydney-based startup, which aims to “transform the way fabrics and materials are captured and represented digitally,” will use the new funds to “boost innovation and growth for the technology used to create digital twins for physical fabrics, resulting in significantly better 3-D texture files for the fashion and textile industries.” The company said in a statement that is looking to “bridge the gap between physical and digital materials, to accelerate the adoption of Digital Product Creation (DPC) with 3D for textile products. By providing a rich, interactive digital experience of colours, textures and reflections, Bandicoot’s solution makes it possible for users anywhere in the world to quickly digitize physical fabrics with accuracy.”
Feb. 27, 2024 – Pimberly Raises £4M in New Round
Pimberly has raised £4M in a new round from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance and Northern Venture Capital Trusts, bringing its total funding to date to over £14 million ($17.8 million). The Manchester, UK-based startup provides product information management (“PIM”) and digital asset management (“DAM”) software to businesses to boost e-commerce sales. Pimberly – which counts Footasylum, Monsoon, JD Sports, Cotton Traders, Dover Sadlery and Harvey Nichols as clients – will use the new funds to upgrade its PIM and DAM technology platform and expand in its already growing presence in the U.S. and European markets.
“The leading ecommerce businesses now sell on multiple marketplaces around the world, which means they have to list their products on numerous different sites and in different languages,” Pimberly founder and CEO Martin Balaam says. “Our product helps them to enrich their product information with more relevant data, images, videos and 3D visuals, and improve the customer’s shopping experience.”
Feb. 22, 2024 – Hakio Raises €4M in Seed Round
Hakio has raised €4 million in a Seed round co-led by People Ventures and Dreamcraft Ventures and joined by existing investors Blazar Capital and Founderment. The Danish SaaS company, which helps fashion and apparel companies to make more accurate predictions about their future sales to optimize inventory levels, will use the new funds to further develop and expand its platform. Hakio says that it “leverages machine learning algorithms to enhance forecasting accuracy and tackle the global waste issue in the fashion industry. “By removing bias when creating a baseline forecast and subsequently including expert knowledge in a sleek and user-friendly platform, fashion brands can increase planning accuracy and reduce operational costs and working capital. This means companies can free up funds to use elsewhere,” said Hakio co-founder and CEO Malte Bjerg Vittrup.
Feb. 19, 2024 – PriyoShop Raises $5M in Pre-Series A
PriyoShop has raised $5 million in a Pre-Series A round led by Century Oak Ventures with participation from Evolution Ventures, Iterative, SOSV (Orbit Startups), GFR Fund, BonBillo, Accelerating Asia, South Asia Tech Partners, and Voltity. The Dhaka, Bangladesh-based business to business retail marketplace for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will use the new funds to “roll out transformative retail supply chain solutions designed to benefit businesses across various sectors” and enhance its technology infrastructure, while expanding its geographical reach and market penetration. PriyoShop’s founder and CEO Asikul Alam Khan said, “We have made a great difference in the lives of small business owners over the past two years. At present, we have roughly 55,000 merchants on our platform, and we expect to positively impact over one million merchants in the coming year.”
Feb. 10, 2024 – Swirl Raises $1.1M in Seed Round
Swirl has raised $1.1 million in a Seed round led by Shastra VC and angel investors from India, the Middle East, and the United States.. The Indian live commerce software as a service (SaaS) company will use the new funds to grow its product teams with a particular focus on the U.S. and the Middle Eastern markets. Founded in 2021 by Kaizad Hansotia and Bheshaj Joshi, Swirl boasts an AI-powered video commerce platform that enables clients, including Puma, VIVO, TVS, GKHair, Traya, and Arvind Brands, to transform short videos or live streams into shoppable content. Hansotia said in a statement, “We have already built a strong validation with global brands across India, Middle East and Europe. With the funding, we plan to enter the $100 billion-plus US and UAE market while strengthening our product suite.”
Feb. 6, 2024 – Octup Raises $4M in Pre-Seed Round
Octup has raised $4 million in a Pre-Seed round led by Tal Ventures with participation from Bullet Ventures, HCS Investors Group and World Trade Ventures, and the founders of unicorn companies Trax and Rapyd. The Tel Aviv, Israel-based provider of an operational AI-driven ecommerce insights platform says it will use the funding to “broaden the rollout of its 360-degree end-to-end discovery platform for e-commerce.” The AI-driven e-commerce insights platform says it “uncovers overlooked data” from brand manufacturers’ operations, including packaging, logistics and warehousing to last-mile delivery, returns management and customer support. In turn, it reveals opportunities to cut operating costs and boost profits.”
Jan. 23, 2024 – Bloomreach Acquires Radiance Commerce
E-commerce personalization platform provider Bloomreach has acquired Radiance Commerce, “a revolutionary, enterprise-grade conversational commerce platform powered by the latest in generative AI.” The parties said in a statement that “using large language models, Radiance guides customers on their shopping journey through expertise-based selling, product search, recommendations, and exploration.” aj De Datta, the co-founder and CEO of Bloomreach, said, “Bloomreach is fully invested in an AI-driven future for e-commerce, and Radiance Commerce is critical in helping us bring that future to life,” said Raj De Datta, co-founder and CEO, Bloomreach. “We have the most robust commerce dataset out there and commerce-specific AI connected to every channel in the shopping journey. Now, we take that unmatched foothold in e-commerce a step further, advancing our conversational capabilities and moving even faster to make Bloomreach Clarity available to businesses around the world.”
Jan. 11, 2024 – Sway Raises $19M in Series A
Sway, formerly Returnmates, has raised $19.5 million in a Series A led by 7GC with participation from Blackhorn Ventures, Lightshed Ventures, Rise of the Rest Revolution, and more. The Los Angeles, CA-based technology company, which enables brands and retailers to offer customers “a white glove delivery and returns experience,” will use the new funds to “grow [its] team, expand coverage from 20 to 25 cities, and enhance the technology to provide additional value for both brand partners and consumers.”
“Consumers don’t choose to shop at brands because UPS, FedEx or USPS drop off the package,” said Sway co-founder & CEO Eric Wimer. “Up until today, delivery and return services have been treated like a commodity. With Sway, we become an extension of the brand’s experience. When you maintain an open channel with the shopper, deliver their package seamlessly, and pick up their return if it doesn’t work out, you redefine the shopper’s relationship with the brand.”
Jan. 11, 2024 – Rokt to Acquire AfterSell
Rokt, the leading ecommerce technology company using machine learning and AI to make transactions more relevant to each shopper, has agreed to acquire AfterSell, a Shopify and Shopify Plus partner that helps e-commerce merchants upsell and cross-sell. Through the acquisition, Rokt says it “will strengthen its SMB offering and expand its client portfolio to more than 20,000 SMB merchants, while giving them access to the same network and powerful AI technology built for large enterprises.” The transaction is expected to close by February 1, 2024. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is a short (and incomplete) excerpt from a data set that is published exclusively for TFL Enterprise subscribers. For access to our up-to-date retail tech investment and M&A tracker, inquire today about how to sign up for an Enterprise subscription.
Share
