Dive Brief:
- New York Fashion Tech Lab announced this week its 10th cohort of women-led B2B startups for its 12-week program, according to a press release. Companies from the fashion and retail industries each year are selected by the nonprofit through an application process to help develop the young businesses.
- Six women-led startups will work with NYFTLab’s retail partners, culminating in a presentation on their technology for a distinguished panel. Before demo day, each selected company will have the chance to meet with senior business executives, entrepreneurs, attend workshops and panel discussions and more.
- This year’s set of startups include Web3 digital fashion archive Altr, recommendation-as-a-service platform PSYKHE AI and others. The companies specialize in industries such as user-generated content, AI-driven chat capabilities, price optimization, digital fashion, personalization and others.
Dive Insight:
Now in its tenth year, New York Fashion Tech Lab is bringing on new retailers as partners, including Saks, Selfridges, TJX and Wolverine World Wide. They join returning companies Burberry, LVMH, Levi & Strauss, Macy’s, Richmont and Vera Bradley to support the program.
This year's startup participants include Altr, Hue, PSYKHE AI, Sociate, Sparkbox and Try Your Best. All participants in the cohort will showcase the tech they create for the annual Tech Runway Demo Day scheduled for early June. Here, founders of the companies will demonstrate their work from the program to retailers, brands, investors and the media.
“The NYFTLab provided us the opportunity to develop our business and meet leading retailers,” Elysa Kahn, co-founder of social commerce platform Squadded, said in a press release. “This contributes to the market validation we always seek as a start-up and is a real step in our journey.”
Since 2014, the NYFTLab has helped over 75 companies including DRESSX, Reflaunt, Trendalytics and others, according to the press release. Alumni of the program have gone on to achieve partnerships with lead retailers, capital investments and acquisitions.
