Truss secures investment from FIGR Ventures

UK-based resale fashion tech start-up Truss, which is looking to revolutionise the fashion industry by powering resale with AI-enabled data infrastructure, has secured 300,000 pounds in investment from FIGR Ventures.

In a statement, Truss said with the new 300,000-pound capital it has also secured critical match-funding to activate a 1.1 million pound Innovate UK grant. This funding supports a collaborative project with the University of Warwick, Depop and Selfridges to develop a bespoke algorithm to instantly recognise a fashion item from Truss’ database using a single image.

Additionally, the investment will be used to enhance Truss’ tech capabilities, expand and enrich the product catalogue, grow the team and develop further partnerships.

Truss was founded by Warwick University graduates Woody Lello (CEO), Felix Jackson (COO), Jack Cardwell (CIO) and Connor Mattinson (CTO) to build the digital backbone for the future of fashion resale.

Officially launched in 2022, Truss aims to tackle one of the resale sector’s biggest challenges, product transparency, by creating millions of product profiles which contain detailed information about any product to streamline fashion resale. Using only a photo, businesses can tap into this information to list products efficiently, enhance searchability and improve conversion rates.

Truss raises 300,000 pounds from FIGR Ventures and secures Innovate UK grant

Woody Lello, chief executive and co-founder of Truss, said: “FIGR has been an incredible investment partner for Truss, providing critical match-funding for our Innovate UK grant, as well as invaluable support. Their dedication and belief in our mission have been instrumental in advancing our technology and driving innovation forward.

“FIGR also provides a personal touch that’s rare in the VC world. I immediately recognised that their approach was different – they were the only VC to ask to meet the entire team before making an investment. This thoughtful, hands-on approach set them apart and gave us confidence in their commitment to our vision.”

As part of the deal, FIGR receives a board observer seat at Truss to enable the family office fund to provide strategic advice and hands-on support to the start-up.

Fiona Humphries, managing director of FIGR Ventures, added: “We are thrilled to have made our first investment into Truss. We started FIGR to back early-stage businesses with the passion, talent and innovation to drive major positive change in the consumer sector, and we believe Truss is a fantastic example of this.

“We believe the fashion sector needs to change, we believe circularity is the answer, and we believe Truss is the way for businesses to achieve this. We’re delighted to be supporting the Truss team to achieve this mission.”

The tech start-up has previously raised 345,000 pounds in a pre-seed round led by SFC Capital, alongside angel investors.