Start-ups news and archive

Venture capital is reclassifying fashion companies as technology bets

The first quarter of 2026 has confirmed a structural shift in how venture capital evaluates the fashion industry. Investors are increasingly backing platforms and infrastructure rather than brands, and the capital flows reflect it. Over 620 million dollars raised in Q1 2026 In the opening three months of the year, fashion-adjacent startups have...

Fashion

New timeline, larger collective: NY Fashion Tech Lab revises model for upcoming edition

NY Fashion Tech Lab is updating its offering for 2026. The non-profit, founded in 2014 by Springboard Enterprises and specialising in platforming women-led B2B fashion technology startups, is stepping into the new year with a revitalised structure, ushering in evolution to adapt to needs of the industry. While the organisation’s mission is to...

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Business|Interview

Everbloom partners with leading mills, raises 8 million dollars to bring protein-waste to luxury supply chains

After seven years of quiet development, textile start-up Everbloom has stepped into the spotlight with the launch of its proprietary protein-based fibres, positioning itself as a direct alternative to cashmere and wool. With 8 million dollars in total funding under its belt, propelling it from concept to commercialisation, the New York-based...

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Business

South Korean Naver acquires Wallapop

Madrid – Naver, a South Korean technology company often referred to as the "Google" of its home country, has acquired Wallapop, the popular Spanish second-hand platform. Founded in Barcelona in 2013, Wallapop is credited with popularizing consumer-to-consumer (C2C) resale in Spain, including for fashion items and accessories. This acquisition is...

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Inditex sees profit grow in first half of 2025 as commercial activities pick up

Madrid – This morning, July 15, Inditex’s 2025 annual general meeting took place at the company’s headquarters in Arteixo, Galicia. The meeting, chaired by Marta Ortega Pérez, non-executive chair of the Spanish fashion multinational, saw the approval of the company's 2024 annual accounts. It also highlighted various ongoing initiatives and...

Fashion

A Spanish startup launches AI tool to streamline fashion’s creative engine

A new Barcelona-based start-up, Artiso, has emerged with a bold promise: to digitise and accelerate fashion’s most sacred process - creativity itself. With its AI-powered SaaS platform now officially launched, Artiso aims to streamline the end-to-end journey from initial concept to campaign delivery, targeting the inefficiencies that often bog...

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Fashion |Interview

Swiss start-up Finally. breaks down taboos surrounding fashion for people in fragile times

Swiss start-up Finally. covers fashion and sustainable products for a period we don't like to think about: hospital stays, chronic illness, a person’s final days. These are fragile times, as the community-oriented design studio and research lab calls them. All products are created after careful consideration and planning, often in collaboration...

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Business

‘Autofocus’ eyewear brand Ixi secures 36.5 million dollars in funding

Ixi, a Finnish startup centred around ‘autofocus’ eyewear, has announced the closing of a Series A funding round amounting to 36.5 million dollars. The investment, led by London-based investment fund Plural, is intended to aid in the product development of Ixi Adaptive Eyewear, with the goal of establishing commercial operations. Additional...

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Epoch Biodesign closes a round of 18.3 million dollars, with participation from Inditex

Disruptive British start-up Epoch Biodesign has announced the closing of a Series A financing round of 18.3 million dollars, with contribution from Spanish fashion giant Inditex. The new capital will be used to scale up the start-up’s current textile biorecycling solutions, with the construction of a first plant for commercial-scale production...

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Desigual opens call to participate in the fourth edition of its startup acceleration program

Madrid – Launched in 2021 as a start-up accelerator, and subsequently reconstituted as a true innovation hub, Desigual has just announced the opening of applications for the fourth edition of its "Awesome Lab" programme. This initiative will once again seek out emerging companies with the potential to disrupt and generate a tremendous positive...

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Inditex launches venture capital for tech and sustainable startups

Spanish fashion giant Inditex has announced the launch of a new venture capital as part of efforts to finance textile innovations and advance its own sustainability goals. The Zara parent company has assigned the management of the investment mechanism to venture capital firm Mundi Ventures, which is currently overseen by its founder Javier...

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Fundraising crunch could hit fashion start-ups

The fashion startup ecosystem is experiencing a significant downturn as founders grapple with an increasingly challenging fundraising environment. Recent data from Carta, a leading equity management platform, reveals a troubling trend of company closures that has been steadily rising over the past two years, with fashion-focused startups...