mmERCH, a fashion startup blending blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI), has secured $6.4 million in a seed funding round with the backing of some leading names across both Web2 and Web3 fashion scenes.
Leading the investment is Liberty City Ventures, with participation from prominent backers including 6529 Holdings LLC, Christie’s Ventures, Flamingo DAO, CEO and co-founder of Paxos Charles Cascarilla, Web3 investor Mike Jacobellis, collector and investor Daniel Maegaard (Seedphrase), American entrepreneur and model Karlie Kloss, luxury fashion designer and philanthropist Tory Burch, and Web3 fashion consortium Red DAO.
Excited, honored, and humbled to announce that @mmERCH has closed a $6.4m seed funding round. Thank you to my amazing team and incredible roster of investors for supporting our vision of bringing blockchain-enabled 1-of-1 generative design to the world. The future is Neo-Couture.… pic.twitter.com/CYgCdhohLs
— Colby Mugrabi (@MinnieMuse_eth) March 15, 2024
Founded in late 2023, mmERCH utilizes generative algorithms to craft unique collections of fashion pieces. The startup plans to unveil its debut collection in April, each item accompanied by a digital twin integrated with blockchain technology to ensure authenticity and foster a connected community through forthcoming experiences.
Colby Mugrabis, founder and CEO of mmERCH, describes the company’s output as ‘neo-couture,’ emphasizing the significance of the investment as a pivotal milestone.
Emil Woods and Murtaza Akbar, founding partners at Liberty City Ventures, laud mmERCH’s disruptive approach to the fashion industry, highlighting its innovation across ideation, supply chain, and customer experience.
The utilization of generative AI design caters to consumers’ growing demand for individuality amid the conventional homogeneity of fashion. This strategic move coincides with escalating opposition against fast fashion, exemplified by recent legislative proposals in France aimed at penalizing excessive production volumes and turnover speed.
Using AI and NFTs to produce authentic physical fashion
mmERCH’s approach echoes initiatives by other brands like Trame, which employs generative algorithms alongside traditional craftsmanship to produce distinctive physical pieces coupled with generative non-fungible token counterparts. Additionally, mmERCH aims to cultivate a connected community, a strategy previously embraced by emerging fashion brands like 9dcc and MNTGE.
The raised capital will fuel mmERCH’s technological advancements, bolster its engineering team, and support future collection expansions.
The startup benefits from a diverse team of founders, creators, collectors, curators, artists, academics, and authors, with Mugrabis bringing her extensive background in the art world.
The founder is actively involved in various arts organizations such as NYU Gallatin, Parsons’ School of Design, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Shed.
