Thread, a new spin on the retail experience that combines artificial intelligence with stylists, has quickly raised over £1 million on Crowdcube. The equity offering which has a pre-money valuation of £68,620,541, is part of a larger Series A round that has been backed by big name VCs. According to Thread, retail investors may participate in the crowdfunding round on the same terms as Balderton Capital, Beringea, Forward Partners, and H&M CO:LAB (part of H&M group).
The £1 million raised on Crowdcube was accomplished quickly with £500,000 being invested in under an hour. Thread is said to be the 2nd fastest offer to top a million on the crowdfunding platform. This round brings total investment in Thread to over $40 million.
Thread reports it currently has over 1 million users generating £14 million in gross sales in the last 12 months. The sites claims that 25% of active customers are now buying all their clothes through the site.
Thread operates by asking customers, currently just for men, a few questions about their style, size, budget, including which brands they like and their preferred style. Customers are then matched with a personal stylist who works with in conjunction with AI to recommend clothes for them. Each user is said to receive a completely unique set of ideas, tailored to their appearance and preferences. Users may also browse clothing selections in a more traditional retail experience. Thread “learns” every time a user interacts with products.
Threads mission is to become the one-stop clothes shopping service similar to other popular tech services such as Uber.
Kieran O’Neill, CEO and co-founder of Thread, said thy are humbled and excited by how many of their customers have decided to invest in Thread in the first day of the campaign.
“We couldn’t have got here without their support, and I’m thrilled to have them join us on our journey to reinvent how the world shops for clothes.”
O’Neill added that the ability of enabling customers to share in the success of Thread is “something that is really important to me.”
“Crowdfunding is a great way for us to democratise our funding round by opening up the opportunity to everyone.”
Of course, investors will be more committed to utilize the service and can be counted on to become brand ambassadors evangelizing on behalf of the company.
“We’re excited to now give them the opportunity invest in the business on the same terms as our professional investors,” said O’Neil.
The crowdfunding offer remains open to investors.
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