A new startup founded and led by e-commerce veterans is using artificial intelligence to change the way people search for and buy clothing online.
Daydream has announced a massive seed round of $50 million from top venture capital firms for the development of technology that aims at supercharging the shopping search experience.
The company, with offices in New York City, Seattle, and other cities, is not revealing much about its platform. It will launch in beta in the second half of this year. The company’s website gives a glimpse of the vision by presenting a series hypothetical search queries such as:
- Brightly colored sneakers that feel classic and old school
- Bella Hadid inspired street style tops
- I’m shopping for cozy and easy vibes in NYC
- I love this bag, but I would like it without stripes
- I need a dress to wear to a wedding in Costa Rica during the summer
Daydream has nearly 2,000 brands available in its catalog as a result of partnerships.
The company is led by CEO Julie Bornstein who was previously Chief Operating Officer at clothing rental giant Stitch Fix. Bornstein has also held executive positions at Sephora Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters. Pinterest acquired her previous startup, a shopping platform powered by AI called THE YES in 2022.
Bornstein cited “massive improvements in AI over the last year.”
“We can finally build a smart online shopping platform that makes it easy and enjoyable for consumers to find the products they love amongst the best selections of brands and retailers around the world,” she stated in a press release.
The rise of generative AI, and other advanced technologies , could change the way people search for information on the Internet – and have major implications for ecommerce.
Online retailers are experimenting with different AI-related concepts in their search experience. Amazon introduced , its new AI assistant Rufus. Alaska Airlines launched, a new tool for searching trip itineraries earlier this year. The tool leverages OpenAI’s generative AI technology.
A recent survey by Adobe about generative AI trends found two-thirds respondents wanted brands to use their purchase history and other data in order to make shopping experiences more relevant.
Matt Fisher , Daydream’s CTO and cofounder, told GeekWire that online shopping needs to be redesigned, especially in the area of memory and context. This will allow for seamless and intuitive experiences which anticipate customer needs.
Fisher is one of many Seattle-area employees who work out of Daydream’s Kirkland, Wash. office.
Dan Cary is a co-founder and chief products officer based in Seattle. He previously worked 12 years for Google, most recently working as a product manger for generative AI on YouTube.
Fisher said that the company plans to increase its headcount in the Seattle area.
Other co-founders are former Pinterest executives Lisa Green, and Richard Kim.
Forerunner Ventures, Index Ventures, and True Ventures participated in the round.
“We believe search will transition to services, with the giants of the search space losing market shares to new entrants who provide personalized, AI driven services that work with consumers in collaboration to meet their goals and delight them with a fundamentally different level of value,” Kirsten, founder and managing director at Forerunner said in a press release.