India and US-based computer vision and artificial intelligence startup Mad Street Den has raised an undisclosed amount of funds from Japan-based telecom operator KDDI via KDDI Open Innovation Fund 2, managed by Tokyo-based independent venture capital firm Global Brain.
The funds raised will be used to improve its AI capabilities, along with growing their sales and marketing team.
The new partnership with KDDI and Global Brain will also help the AI startup to expand business in Japanese and Asian markets, along with forging new partnerships and alliances.
Mad Street Den was founded by a husband-wife duo Ashwini Asokan and Anand Chandrashekran in 2013. The startup’s primary product is Vue.ai, an artificial intelligence and image recognition platform for the apparel industry.
Vue.ai offers various solutions like VueTag, an AI-powered catalogue management tool for better product discovery. It offers a list of other solutions that help its client to enhance customer experience, reduce costs, and design effective marketing solutions.
Its flagship product is a human model generator, an AI-based product generating garment-to-model images that claims to reduce the offline to online product digitization and merchandizing cycle by several times.
Some of its clients include Tata CLIQ, Levi’s, Macy’s, Diesel, Namshi, and Zilingo, among others.
In August 2016, Mad Street Den raised an undisclosed amount of funds in series A round led by Sequoia Capital India, along with participation from GrowX Venture Management, Exfinity Venture Partners and Array Ventures.
Other startups leveraging AI to enhance the apparel retail industry include Bengaluru-based iLenze, Gurugram-based Staqu, and Try & Buy Fashions, among many others.
Last month, Try & Buy Fashions raised $1 million from Venture Catalysts.
Indian startups have been leveraging the artificial intelligence to offer solutions across various industries. Here are some of the recent developments in the Indian AI industry.
Recently, AI-startup ThinCI raises ₹468 crores in series C; to expand the team in India. Last month, AI-based startup Racetrack.ai raises ₹34.2 crores in pre-series A.