autone, a platform helping retailers transform their business through optimal inventory management, has raised a £13 million Series A funding round led by General Catalyst.
CEO Adil Bouhdadi and CTO Harry Glucksmann-Cheslaw met at Alexander McQueen in 2016 where they created a data-driven inventory decision platform which was integral to tripling the brand revenue in five years to more than $800m+ revenues.
Founded in 2021, autone is already used by more than 50 global brands like Courreges, Roberto Cavalli, Stussy, and Zadig & Voltaire to help them accurately forecast demand, accelerate sales, while minimising waste and dramatically cutting time spent on manual tasks.
Its platform collates 100m data points per customer which it uses to demonstrate the impact on the bottom line of changing a single input. By integrating all internal and external data, the platform uses predictive analytics and machine learning to identify trends, forecast demand and anticipate inventory needs.
autone’s revenues have increased sixfold since the last funding round less than a year ago. The company now serves mid-market retailers in beauty and cosmetics, accessories, sportswear and homeware across the UK, France, Germany, the UAE and the US.
Its US expansion will be supported by General Catalyst’s track record and expertise in the sector as an early investor in commerce giants including Demandware, NewStore, BigCommerce and Warby Parker.
All existing investors from autone’s seed round also reinvested in its Series A. This includes Speedinvest, YCombinator, Seedcamp, 2100VC, Motier, Financière Saint James, and notable business angels from LVMH, Sephora and Moncler.
The funding will be used to accelerate product development and continue autone’s expansion and hiring across the US and Europe.
“autone speaks the language of the people using it – not just the C-suite,” said Bouhdadi. “An intuitive platform that turns passive data into powerful actions. A place where retail professionals can see the ROI of their work and feel confident in their decisions.
“We’ve taken a step back to look at what AI can really mean for our users. Retailers sit on piles of data that can simply not be leveraged with most tools, let alone spreadsheets. autone unlocks retailer profitability by reducing inventory levels while improving sales.
“To us, AI is not just about automation and prediction; It’s about empowering the expert within each user. The future of retail extends beyond sales figures and inventory levels; it’s deeply intertwined with our responsibility towards the environment.
“We aim to show the entire industry that selling better doesn’t mean more inventory but smarter inventory.”