Onton Secures $7.5M Funding to Broaden AI-Driven Shopping Platform Beyond Furniture
Major tech companies are leveraging AI not merely for generating or summarizing content but also to transform your shopping experience. Pioneers like OpenAI, Google, and Amazon are deeply invested in AI assistants designed to explore new product categories and help you make informed purchasing decisions. This trend of technologically-enhanced shopping is not just a future concept—it’s happening now, and it’s revolutionizing the way we find and buy products.
The Rise of AI in Shopping
Startups like Perplexity, Daydream, and Cherry are emerging as key players, focusing on AI-driven product discovery. With an impressive shift towards using AI for shopping, Onton (formerly known as Deft) boasts a remarkable growth spurt—from 50,000 monthly active users to over 2 million, processing millions of searches and generating numerous images along the way.
Onton’s success is further illustrated by their recent funding achievement: $7.5 million raised in a round led by Footwork, complemented by contributions from other investors such as Liquid 2 and Parable Ventures. This brings their total funding to nearly $10 million, a testament to the mounting interest in AI-driven shopping solutions.
Expanding Horizons: New Categories and Features
With the windfall from this funding, Onton is aiming to diversify its catalog. Plans are underway to delve into apparel and ultimately consumer electronics, embracing a broader spectrum of shopping needs.
Earlier this year, the company underwent a rebranding from Deft to Onton to eliminate confusion over its original name and to secure a more conducive domain name. Co-founder Zach Hudson highlights that while large language models (LLMs) may predict intended searches, they often fall short in addressing e-commerce challenges. An increase in the time consumers take to make purchase decisions has been noted, underscoring the need for more effective tools.
Innovative Tech Solutions
Onton employs a neuro-symbolic architecture, which distinctly mitigates the hallucination issues common in LLMs. This approach enhances the accuracy of search results by learning from real-world data that may not be included in standard product descriptions.
Hudson illustrates this with an example: If you’re seeking pet-friendly furniture, their tools recognize that polyester is more stain- and scratch-resistant, making it ideal for a household with pets. Onton learns from every search activity, becoming smarter with each interaction.
Providing Tailored Shopping Experiences
In line with enhancing the shopping journey, Onton has introduced various input methods for users’ convenience. You can now upload an image or provide a prompt to envision how you wish to style your home or office, and Onton will find the furniture that best matches your vision.
Their user-friendly tools extend to an infinite canvas for ideation, allowing you to combine existing images with newly discovered products. This feature helps craft perfectly curated spaces, streamlining the creative process.
The Future of AI Shopping
Rather than sticking to a chat-only interface, Onton is fostering a more versatile platform where users can explore products even when they lack precise descriptions. Their innovative approaches have demonstrated a customer conversion rate that’s 3-5 times higher than traditional e-commerce sites, building a strong foundation of trust in their underlying data.
Hudson anticipates that these technological advancements will simplify the launch of their apparel line, currently under development, putting them in competition with brands like Daydream, Aesthetic, and Style.ai.
Growing Stronger Every Day
From a humble team of three in 2023 to ten now, Onton has ambitious plans to expand to 15 members, focusing on hiring engineers and researchers as it continues to grow.
The integration of AI into shopping is reshaping not just how we buy products but also the entire consumer experience. As Onton embarks on this exciting journey, they invite you to be at the forefront of this transformation.
Explore Onton today and discover a smarter way to elevate your living spaces with the perfect furniture, tailored just for you!
