Bold Metrics Secures $8M in Series A Funding, Unlocking the Power of Body Data for the Apparel Industry
Global AI body data leader amplifies innovative solutions charting a new course towards sustainability
SAN FRANCISCO, May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bold Metrics Inc. the AI-first SaaS solution helping companies unlock the power of body data, today announced $8 million in Series A financing. The new round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Lytical Ventures, ValueStream Ventures, and Nanban Ventures, brings the company's total funding to $12.3 million.
The company, which already has a global presence and is profitable, will use the funds to accelerate its expansion into new growth markets while also scaling research and development to deepen its core capabilities. Bold Metrics already works with a number of brands including Canada Goose, Tailored Brands (Men's Wearhouse, Jos A Bank), SuitShop, Blue Delta Denim and UpWest, amongst others.
Bold Metrics provides apparel brands and retailers with the most accurate AI Body Modeling technology to unlock the power of body data enabling data-led product design. This in turn reduces returns, boosts conversion and quantifiably improves sustainability efforts while making shopping for clothing easy, convenient and personal for consumers. Its AI solutions connect customers to clothes that fit according to their body measurements, shape and personal preference data in seconds, driving down return rates at a time when the apparel industry is grappling with a serious returns problem.
Consumer preference-based returns drive approximately 72% of all returns in the apparel product categories, with poor fit accounting for more than 50% of those returns. In addition, the significant environmental cost as a result of returns contributes an estimated 15 million metric tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere annually while generating 5 billion pounds of landfill waste within the same period in the U.S. alone.
Bold Metrics powers sizing intelligence solutions for ready-to-wear, on-demand and custom apparel both in-store and online so that consumers can efficiently connect their body data to products. With an ever-growing arsenal of 45 million body models, the company continues to lead the market, adding more than 2 million new body models per quarter.
"To state the obvious, when you're selling clothes online, the way they fit really matters to the customer and the business." said Kent Bennett, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. "Bold Metrics hides sophisticated AI models in an elegant user-friendly wrapper that helps customers choose clothes that fit every time. We're excited to help this team modernize the way this massive industry does business."
The lack of consistency and accuracy in addressing the sizing needs of apparel consumers has been a persistent challenge for both brands and their customers. Despite being able to collect and measure numerous customer attributes, apparel brands ascertain sizing specifications in the near complete absence of customer body shape and measurement data, as that data has been historically not possible to collect in a scalable or meaningful way. This fuels a disconnect between what the technical design team is producing and what customers want when it comes to product fit, which cumulatively adds to the return rate and conversion challenge.
"Inspired by my family's craft in tailoring and my background in data science, we sought to develop a method to capture body measurements accurately without compromising adoption rates." said Daina Burnes, CEO of Bold Metrics. "With Bold Metrics' proprietary AI Body Modeling technology, we've achieved a scalable sizing solution that is easy for our clients and their customers to adopt and use, while simultaneously unlocking data-led insights to provide new tracks of retail intelligence throughout the organization."
Unlocking access to consumer body data in the apparel industry is crucial, and Bold Metrics has been leading the way in its accuracy of results as well as innovation. The timeliness of the funding will enable Bold Metrics to further scale growth, attract talent and boost its R&D efforts to address the evolving needs of apparel brands and their global customers.
In addition to its core capabilities, Bold Metrics unveiled the world's-first Body Data NFT™ technology at this year's NRF2022, allowing it to work with Web3 native Ethereum wallets like Coinbase and Metamask to provide a streamlined experience for shoppers buying clothes online, in-store, or in the Metaverse, while readying apparel brands for Web3. To learn more, please visit boldmetrics.com.
About Bold Metrics
Established in January 2017, Bold Metrics develops AI Body Modeling technologies that empower apparel brands to unlock the power of body data to boost conversion, slash return rates, and improve sustainability efforts. Bold Metrics innovative solutions supercharge supply chains through actionable insights based on actual customer body measurements, proprietary algorithms, and advanced machine learning technologies that have been proven to be the most accurate in its category. Follow @boldmetrics or learn more at boldmetrics.com
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is the world's most experienced early-stage venture capital firm. With a portfolio of more than 200 companies, Bessemer helps visionary entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to create companies that matter, and supports them through every stage of their growth. The firm has 130 IPOs, including Pinterest, Shopify, Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, Skype, LifeLock, PagerDuty, DocuSign, Wix, MindBody, and Fiverr. Bessemer's team of investors and partners are positioned all over the world in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, and Beijing. Follow @BessemerVP and learn more at bvp.com.
Contact: [email protected]
SOURCE Bold Metrics
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