Shoppin, an innovative AI-powered fashion search engine, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round from InfoEdge Ventures. The startup, founded by Shlok Bhartiya, aims to revolutionize the fashion discovery process by leveraging artificial intelligence to help users effortlessly find their ideal apparel products. The platform utilizes advanced search capabilities powered by multi-modal prompts, vibes, product descriptions, and images. In just three weeks, Shoppin has already attracted over 35,000 Instagram followers and 20,000+ waitlist sign-ups, highlighting its early success and organic appeal.
With this funding, Shoppin plans to expand its team, enhance its proprietary technology, and fine-tune its AI models tailored specifically for the fashion industry. The platform’s goal is to bridge the gap between fashion inspiration found on social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest and e-commerce discovery, ensuring a seamless shopping experience. Shoppin’s founders have built an exciting AI-driven search engine for Gen-Z users, who often rely on social media for fashion inspiration but face challenges in finding the right products.
The funding will primarily be allocated towards building a team of AI engineers and improving the core AI models. Shoppin is also working on a beta launch set for February, which will enhance personalization and improve the accuracy of its fashion search. The company has already partnered with leading D2C brands and plans to collaborate with more in the future. This early-stage investment is a significant step toward shaping the future of fashion discovery, particularly for younger audiences who prioritize innovation and convenience.
AI-Powered Fashion Search Engine Shoppin: Revolutionizing Fashion Discovery
Shoppin, an AI-powered fashion search engine, has raised $1 million from InfoEdge Ventures in a pre-seed funding round. The platform is designed to make fashion discovery more seamless, personalized, and accessible, allowing users to find their ideal clothing items through advanced AI technology. By combining elements of OpenAI’s multi-modal search, Google’s indexing algorithms, and Pinterest’s social media-driven recommendations, Shoppin aims to streamline the fashion search process for Gen-Z users, who are increasingly relying on social platforms like Instagram and Pinterest for style inspiration.
Shlok Bhartiya, the Founder and CEO of Shoppin, recognized the gap in the market for a unified solution that could bridge fashion inspiration on social media with the practical need for product discovery and e-commerce. The result is Shoppin: an innovative AI search engine designed to enhance the online shopping experience by providing smarter, more intuitive search capabilities.
Founder and Background
Shlok Bhartiya, the driving force behind Shoppin, has a background in technology and entrepreneurship. His experience in the startup ecosystem has helped him understand the challenges that both consumers and brands face when it comes to fashion discovery. Prior to founding Shoppin, Bhartiya gained valuable insights into the fashion and tech industries, which fueled his passion for creating a platform that could simplify and revolutionize how users find and purchase fashion items online.
Shlok’s vision for Shoppin is to leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence to create a more intuitive and enjoyable fashion discovery process. His dedication to providing a solution for both users and fashion brands led to the creation of a platform that uses AI models tailored specifically for fashion. Shlok has been joined by a talented team of Gen-Z engineers and marketers who are working tirelessly to bring this vision to life.
Shoppin’s Working Model and Revenue Model
Shoppin’s AI-powered platform offers an intuitive fashion search engine that helps users discover apparel products using multiple types of inputs, such as prompts, images, and product descriptions. Users can simply enter a vibe, a color, or even a style and let the AI algorithm find the best matches from a vast pool of fashion products. This personalized search function ensures that users can easily navigate through endless fashion options and discover the perfect products to suit their style.
In terms of revenue, Shoppin follows a marketplace model, where it partners with Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands to feature their products on the platform. As more brands join the platform, Shoppin plans to monetize through commissions and possibly sponsored listings, creating a symbiotic relationship where both users and brands benefit. The integration of artificial intelligence into this model allows Shoppin to offer a tailored and unique experience for each user, based on their preferences and search behavior.
Use of Raised Capital
Shoppin will primarily use the $1 million raised in this pre-seed funding round from InfoEdge Ventures to build and expand its team of AI engineers. This will allow the company to enhance and fine-tune its proprietary AI models. These models, including Shoppin’s custom-built SLMs (Style Learning Models) and embeddings, are specifically designed for fashion discovery, ensuring the platform’s search functionality remains accurate and personalized.
The startup also plans to use the funds to enhance the platform’s core technology, particularly focusing on scaling its advanced AI capabilities to handle more complex search queries and deliver even more accurate results. Additionally, the company is looking to foster growth by expanding its partnerships with fashion brands and launching its beta search engine in February.
Growth and Market Response
Shoppin’s organic growth has been impressive so far. In just three weeks, the startup has gained a strong following on Instagram, amassing over 35,000 followers. Moreover, it has accumulated 20,000+ sign-ups on its waitlist, all with zero marketing expenditure. This traction reflects the growing demand for smarter fashion discovery tools and demonstrates Shoppin’s potential to capture the attention of a tech-savvy, fashion-conscious audience, particularly among Gen-Z consumers.
“Fashion discovery needs to be much more intuitive and enjoyable,” said Kitty Agarwal, Partner at InfoEdge Ventures, highlighting the importance of Shoppin’s mission. The ability to connect fashion inspiration with e-commerce through AI-driven search will help surfacing innovative and emerging D2C fashion brands to the right customers, solving distribution challenges faced by these brands.
Partnerships and Future Plans
hoppin has already established partnerships with leading D2C brands and plans to collaborate with more in the coming months. These partnerships will enable Shoppin to offer a diverse and extensive selection of fashion products to its users, further enhancing its platform’s appeal. The company’s goal is to continually improve its search engine’s personalization and accuracy, ensuring that users enjoy an effortless fashion discovery experience.
The startup also plans to refine its AI models and introduce new features based on user feedback and behavior, with the aim of creating a truly personalized fashion experience. By launching its beta search engine in February and scaling up its AI technology, Shoppin is positioning itself as a major player in the AI-driven fashion search industry.
Learning for Startups and Entrepreneurs
Shoppin’s success story offers several valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and startups.
- Identifying a Gap in the Market: Shlok Bhartiya’s ability to identify the gap between fashion inspiration and product discovery has been crucial to Shoppin’s development. Startups should always be on the lookout for market inefficiencies and aim to solve real problems.
- Leveraging Technology for Personalization: The use of AI to personalize the fashion discovery process is a great example of how technology can enhance user experience and drive business growth.
- Organic Growth and Community Building: Shoppin’s ability to grow its Instagram following and generate significant waitlist sign-ups without spending on marketing demonstrates the power of organic growth and the importance of building a strong online community.
- Strategic Partnerships: Collaborating with fashion brands is key to Shoppin’s business model, allowing the platform to expand its offerings and provide more value to its users.
AI-Powered Fashion Search Engine Shoppin Raises $1 Million from InfoEdge Ventures
Shoppin’s AI-powered fashion search engine has attracted substantial investor interest, securing $1 million in funding from InfoEdge Ventures to fuel the startup’s growth. With its innovative AI-driven approach and a sharp focus on improving fashion discovery for Gen-Z consumers, Shoppin is set to revolutionize the way people shop for fashion online. As the startup prepares for its beta launch in February, it will continue to develop its technology and expand its partnerships with fashion brands to offer a personalized and seamless shopping experience.
About The Startups News
At The Startups News, we are dedicated to bringing you the latest updates on the startup ecosystem, focusing on emerging technologies and innovative business models. Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to grow your business or a startup enthusiast, our platform provides insights into the latest funding rounds, industry trends, and startup success stories.