The AI-powered search and recommendation platform is the second ever fully-female-founded UK technology company to raise over £2m+ at pre-seed stage1
LONDON, July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Hey Savi, the new UK fashion search and recommendation platform, today announces it has secured £2.2 million in investment. The funding round is one of the largest raises at pre-seed stage by an all-female founded, UK technology start-up. Using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) alongside unique customer and fashion data, Hey Savi will completely reshape the way fashion lovers search and shop online, delivering a highly personalised solution for customers to find and buy their perfect outfit first time, every time.
Founded by Victoria Peppiatt, Angela Vinci, and Sarah Daniel, the trio of dynamic, female entrepreneurs each bring a wealth of experience across their combined portfolio, boasting an impressive record of starting, building, scaling and exiting high growth businesses. Previously recognised by Management Today as Tech Entrepreneur of the Year, Victoria is a second time tech Founder, Investor and NED, having exited her previous start-up, Phrasee, in 2022. In previous executive roles, Angela has developed world-leading consumer products for some of the largest global fashion, retail, and technology brands including Farfetch, Gap, Sephora, Vinted and Apple. Sarah, ex-Global CEO of Prominate, brings her extensive experience of successfully scaling fast-growth profitable businesses across international markets.
The combination of an enormous market opportunity and the clear customer need for a more personalised online shopping experience is the driving force behind the trio of founders. Over 10,000 fashion searches are made every minute in the UK alone, yet search functionality for online shopping has not changed since the internet began. The emergence of transformational technologies, including AI, combined with a growing shift in customer expectations, provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reconnect shoppers with retailers.
Angela Vinci, Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at Hey Savi commented: “The challenge consumers face today is that search engines will always prioritise their business models of paid for advertising, rather than delivering relevant results.”
She continued: “The search experience is outdated and not fit for today’s fast-paced fashion environment. We are creating an experience customers will love and that will give them confidence in their choices. Hey Savi’s unique platform is built by an industry leading, fully female product team, and is perfectly timed to reignite the way customers engage with retailers online, unlocking millions in new revenue.”
Co-founder and Co-CEO, Sarah Daniel, added: “As a leadership team, our combined experience is incredibly compelling. As we build the company from the ground up – our ethos to deliver a ‘people-first’ culture, along with product excellence, will stand us apart from closest competitors in this space and will be the engine to drive our business in the UK and globally.”
Victoria Peppiatt, Co-founder and Co-CEO, commented on the funding: “The response to our raise has been phenomenal. The huge support we’ve received from high profile investors, including well respected angels from Boardwave, Founders Capital and the WITSEND community, has both validated the potential of our product and reaffirmed the market opportunity. On top of which, we are incredibly proud of the fact that 54% of our investors are female.”
Hey Savi is supported by an industry leading advisory board including Gareth Jones, Chief Marketing Officer at Sotheby’s, ex-CMO at eBay and Farfetch, Robin Sutara, Chief Data Officer at Databricks, ex-Chief Data Officer at Microsoft and Richard Goold, Partner at Wilson Sonsini.
*Source:
1/ Pitchbook
2/ https://fashionunited.uk/uk-fashion-industry-statistics
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About Hey Savi
Hey Savi is on a mission to change the way people search and shop online, forever. As the ultimate fashion matchmaker, Savi finds your perfect item or outfit in under 60 seconds by connecting you to the retailers who have it in stock, in your size and at the best price. Snap, search, try and buy.
https://www.heysavi.com
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SOURCE Hey Savi