We are excited to announce our investment in autone. Co-founders Adil and Harry grew up in the fashion industry. As a young, technical duo with backgrounds in computer and data science, they were fascinated by how inventory management decisions were made at fashion houses. They met at Alexander McQueen and teamed up to bring data intelligence into inventory management, revolutionizing not only operations but also the culture of the organization by merging data with business acumen—effectively marrying art and science. As McQueen’s CEO said, “We hired a team of 25-year-olds who spent their time experimenting with the data we collected. Their figures told us how to expand our business."

Following their success at McQueen, Adil and Harry founded autone in the summer of 2022, with a mission to empower decision-makers—from merchandisers to store managers—with data-driven insights. Today, autone serves more than 50 customers across the U.S. and EMEA, including marquee brands like Chloé, Stüssy, and Roberto Cavalli. According to autone, brands using their platform have seen up to a 55% reduction in inventory, 25% improvement in forecasting accuracy, 30% increase in sales, and savings of 45 hours of manual work per week per customer. 

At General Catalyst, we have a long-standing commitment to transforming commerce. We were early backers of Demandware, NewStore, Warby Parker, Instacart, and BigCommerce. While inventory management has become data-driven in many sectors, particularly in fast-moving consumer goods like groceries, the fashion industry—and many other retail sectors—still rely heavily on outdated, manual systems.

Managing orders and stocking has become increasingly complex for retailers due to the expansion of distribution channels, the growing intricacy of global supply chains, unpredictable lead times, and shorter sales cycles. This challenge can be particularly acute for mid-market retailers and premium brands that still rely on outdated software and spreadsheets to forecast stock needs. Relying on insufficient data often leads to overproduction, excess inventory, and eroded profit margins. One of the least favorable outcomes for a brand is selling out of a top-selling product, as it directly affects their bottom line by losing full-priced sales.

autone’s platform solves this by analyzing over 100 million data points per customer, demonstrating how a single input change can impact profitability. By integrating internal and external data, the platform leverages predictive analytics and machine learning to identify trends, forecast demand, and anticipate inventory needs. autone’s product is intuitive for retailers; it uses LLMs to clearly explain stock recommendations, which can be implemented with just one click. 

We are excited about the future as we partner with the autone team. We believe their innovative approach to data-led inventory management is set to redefine retail operations and decision-making culture in the new era of AI. Welcome to the retail renaissance!