AI-powered Inventory Platform autone Raises $17m from General Catalyst to Shape a New Era of Retail Built on Data

London, 16 October – autone, the AI-powered platform revolutionizing retail inventory management, announces the successful closure of a $17M Series A funding round led by General Catalyst, with participation from all existing Seed round investors, including Speedinvest, YCombinator, Seedcamp, 2100VC, Motier, Financière Saint James, and notable business angels from LVMH, Sephora, and Moncler.

autone is widely recognized and trusted by global retail brands such as Courreges, Roberto Cavalli, Stussy, and Zadig & Voltaire. Founded by the creators of Alexander McQueen’s intelligence platform, CEO Adil Bouhdadi and CTO Harry Glucksmann-Cheslaw, autone is poised to become the essential operating platform for retail, designed to enhance sales while significantly reducing inventory levels and freeing up working capital.

The funding will enable autone to expand its go-to-market efforts within the US and enhance its product and engineering teams. This injection of capital is earmarked to accelerate product development and propel autone’s expansion and hiring across the US and Europe.

Addressing Retail’s Complex Challenges

The retail sector faces increasing complexity in managing orders, stocking, and inventory due to the proliferation of distribution channels and the complexity of global supply chains. autone’s platform, leveraging predictive analytics and machine learning, is designed to address these challenges by providing accurate demand forecasts, accelerating sales, and minimizing waste.

autone’s platform processes 100 million data points per customer, transforming these into actionable insights that lead to up to 55% reduction in inventory, a 25% increase in forecasting accuracy, a 30% increase in sales, and saving 45 hours of manual work per week for its users.

A Sustainable and Profitable Future

As the retail industry seeks to align with increasing sustainability regulations, including the EU’s ban on destroying unsold goods, autone’s platform also helps brands improve their long-term sustainability and reduce environmental impact.

A Commitment to Innovation and Empowerment

“autone speaks the language of the people using it—not just the C-suite,” “Our platform is intuitive, turning passive data into powerful actions and allowing retail professionals to see the ROI of their work and make confident decisions. We aim to empower the expert within each user, ensuring that selling better doesn’t just mean more inventory but smarter inventory.”

Adil Bouhdadi, CEO of autone

Customer and Investor Endorsements

Roberto Cavalli noted the transformative impact of autone’s platform:

“The collaboration with autone marks a significant revolution in inventory management using AI. We saw top-line results quickly, recouping our investment within three months.”

“With our investment in autone, we are supporting a team with deep retail expertise and a vision to help mid-market retailers make better business decisions using data.”

Zeynep Yavuz from General Catalyst

About autone

autone is an AI-powered inventory optimization platform that helps retailers transform their business through data-driven decision-making. Founded by Adil Bouhdadi and Harry Glucksmann-Cheslaw, who previously built Alexander McQueen’s intelligence platform, autone is trusted by more than 50 global brands to reduce inventory waste, increase sales, and enhance efficiency. For more information, visit https://autone.io/.

About General Catalyst

General Catalyst invests in powerful, positive change that endures—for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. For more: www.generalcatalyst.com.