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Thread lands $22m to grow its AI-powered styling service

Thread, a personalised styling service for men, has raised $22m (£16.74m) in Series B funding.

This round was led by Balderton Capital, Beringea, Forward Partners, and H&M group’s investment arm H&M CO:LAB.

Thread was founded in London in 2012 by Kieran O’Neill, Ben Kucsan, and Ben Phillips. Over the last year, 50 new brands have joined the platform, including Barbour, Hugo Boss and Levis.

The latest fund bring the total raised by Thread to over $40m. The company will use the new cash injection to continue expanding its artificial intelligence team, as well as growing the brand.

CEO Kieran O’Neill said: “More than ever, guys care about dressing well, which is why menswear is a growing market. But they face an overwhelming number of options on the High Street and online. 

Since the beginning of Thread we have always built the service in collaboration with our customers. We’re obsessive about understanding their needs, and have worked closely with customers to craft the experience. We feel lucky that this has resulted in a very loyal, engaged customer base. We’re excited to now give them the opportunity invest in the business on the same terms as our professional investors, and share in our success,” he added. 

Thread provides style recommendations to millions of men. It works by asking customers 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 artificial intelligence algorithms to recommend the clothes for them.

Customers can also browse an online store containing just clothes that suit them. Thread learns every time you interact with products, so the recommendations and store get more personal each time you use it.

Thread counts some of the world’s leading investors in fashion and artificial intelligence in its investor portfolio, including DeepMind co-founders Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, Y Combinator and Andrew Jennings, the former President of Saks Fifth Avenue .

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