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恭喜TTA校友團隊 Taelor AI男裝租賃平台在首次募資的種子輪中籌得6700萬!
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2022-04-29
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矽谷阿雅AI男裝租賃平台Taelor募得6700萬擴大招募
美國知名創投Bling加碼「時尚界的網飛」正式啟動台灣成衣進軍美國新通路
美國知名創投Bling加碼「時尚界的網飛」正式啟動台灣成衣進軍美國新通路
美國人工智慧男裝租賃訂閱服務Taelor今天宣布在首次募資的種子輪中籌得230萬美元（約新台幣6791萬元），投資人包括有由谷歌和Meta（原臉書）的早期高階主管Ben Ling創立的美國知名創投公司Bling，該公司投資超過十家獨角獸。其他天使投資人還有吉他英雄創始人黃中凱及妻子Samantha Chien、前摩根士丹利台灣區前總裁暨執行長趙辛哲、台灣最大天使投資社群識富天使會，及相關領域策略投資人等，可說是眾星雲集。鄭雅慈表示，所取得的資金將用於擴大全球招聘，其中包括在台灣建立科技團隊，以及加倍跟台灣成衣業的合作。
Taelor之所以受到矚目，不僅因為創辦人是在美國電商圈擁有豐功偉業，協助建立臉書全球電商產品、eBay新興市場網站、麥當勞全球外送科技的美國西北大學講師「矽谷阿雅」鄭雅慈（Anya Cheng），也因為Taelor極高效的實踐力，幾個月內展開試營運、成為谷歌員工福利、簽下十多時尚品牌，甚至連美國知名媒體Vogue、彭博（Bloomberg）、ABC都報導。
Taelor募資成功的主因主要是兩位創辦人矽谷阿雅與Phoebe Tan的肯拚且靈活的創業家特質撼動了這些有名的投資人，加上她以往在Meta、eBay的人脈，讓美國知名創投公司Bling半小時會議後就立刻決定要投資。Bling曾投資十多家獨角獸新創，包括Uber的最大競爭對手Lyft、數位金融龍頭之一Square、近年爆紅的視覺化數據編輯工具Airtable、群眾募資平台Indiegogo等。Bling對Taelor的評價是「Taelor幫大省時間和錢，還透過人工智慧提供客製化的體驗，而且環保和二手共享都是未來的趨勢。」
其他投資Taelor的基金公司包括有美國西北大學教授創立的Chicago Early Growth Ventures，還有女性創業家基金Golden Seeds矽谷分會聯合創始人的投資。Taelor還獲得多位知名天使投資人的青睞，包括有Guitar Hero創始人黃中凱（Kai Huang）。Taelor也在2021年以優秀的成績獲選TTA SV計畫，透過TTA SV計畫鏈結了知名加速器500 Startups，在行銷、募資、人脈串聯上獲得前進的推力。
Taelor是針對忙碌男生的「時尚界的網飛」人工智慧男裝租賃訂閱服務，會員繳交月費，每月可以穿八件衣服，由穿搭師和人工智慧幫會員穿搭，會員收到第一個盒子的四件衣服，會員可以無限次穿，穿完不用洗、退回去，再換下一個盒子，如果喜歡，也可以用最低原價三折買下來。近年環保、永續意識抬頭，共享經濟、循環時尚的租賃訂閱被看好是下一波投資熱潮。
不只是看好循環時尚趨勢，過去在美國零售龍頭Target等有近十五年電商經驗的鄭雅慈，看準的也是透過租賃帶來的豐富數據，成為零售、衣服品牌預測趨勢的前哨站。以及過去在矽谷科技公司經驗中，看到企業提供員工租衣服務的的員工福利商機。因此，Taelor在時尚、企業禮品、數據分析、物流運輸和永續環保領域也有一批戰略投資人：包括台灣最大天使投資社群識富天使會聯合創始人、旭榮集團執行董事黃冠華，旭榮集團是台灣的針織一條龍整合供應商，客戶包括Adidas、 PVH 集團(Calvin Klein、Tommy Hilfiger)等超過兩百個國際知名品牌。另外還有美國知名數據分析公司創始人，掌管員工送禮前美國財星五百大公司的人資長，以及致力於循環經濟的非營利組織「循環台灣基金會」的董事會成員、摩根士丹利台灣前董事總經理趙辛哲（Sean Chao）。
鄭雅慈表示，所取得的資金將用於擴大全球招聘，其中包括軟體工程師、資深用戶體驗暨視覺（UX/UI）產品設計師、數據工程師、數據分析師、機器學習工程師、行銷創意設計師、助理財務分析師、營運經理及助理、社群行銷助理、服裝穿搭師及助理、服裝採購經理及助理等。另外，資金也將用在擴大衣服品牌的合作，特別是與台灣及亞洲成衣業的合作，成衣業可以將庫存放上Taelor出租轉賣變現、用Taelor測試即將上市新商品，並且成為進入美國市場的新通路。有意求職或是合作的人可以聯繫hi@taelor.ai。
圖說: Taelor 兩位創辦人Anya Cheng與Phoebe Tan
關於Taelor
Taelor是一個在矽谷的人工智慧男裝租賃訂閱平台，幫助忙碌的人穿好看又不用買衣服，會員付月費後每月可穿最多八件衣服，由人工智慧和穿搭師幫你穿搭，衣服免運費寄給你，穿幾週後不用洗，寄回去換下一一個盒子，省下乾洗衣服的時間和花費。Taelor也提供租賃訂閱給企業作為新進員工送禮、員工福利、企業客戶送禮的選擇。另外，Taelor也協助零售、衣服品牌測試商品，以及數據分析、預測趨勢的服務。
關於台灣科技新創基地（Taiwan Tech Arena，簡稱TTA）
TTA是臺灣科技部推動創新創業國際化的旗艦計畫，TTA結合國內產業資源，吸引海內外優質團隊進駐發展，就加速輔導、國際資金、海外市場及企業資源鏈結等面向，提供創業教育、事業化輔導、媒合加值服務及營運支援等。TTA設有矽谷辦公室（TTA SV），以台矽雙邊結構涵納矽谷能量，透過臺灣和矽谷的新創生態圈交流互動，將臺灣新創團隊介接到國際市場。TTA SV計畫已經協助超過150家臺灣新創團隊赴美發展，並且超過半數募得國際資金。
關於識富天使會（Smart Capital）
台灣第一個專注早期投資、積極連結民間企業資源的天使投資社群。包括YouTube創辦人陳士駿、富邦第三代蔡承儒、天來創新生活董事長陳來助在內，識富天使會至今已累積超過250位成員，來自知名創業家、企業接班人、高階經理人等各行業精英。總投資金額逾億元，是全台最大也最活躍的個人天使投資機構。投資橫跨智慧製造、金融科技、影視體育、教育、醫材等多元領域，識富天使會至今新創總投資金額超過上億元，讓台灣新創公司的價值被看到。
Taelor, a Menswear Rental Subscription Service Founded by ex-Facebooker, Raises $2.3 Million in Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Round
San Francisco, CA — Taelor, Inc., a menswear rental subscription service that uses artificial intelligence to select clothes for people based on their personal goals and preferences, announced today that it has secured $2.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round of funding.
Taelor's lead investor is Bling Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Ben Ling, an early executive at Google and Meta (formally Facebook). Bling has previously invested in more than 10 unicorn companies, including Lyft, Instacart, Square, Airtable, Indiegogo, and Everlane.
Taelor also received investments from Samantha Chien and her husband, Kai Huang, the founder of Guitar Hero; Sean Chao, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley Taiwan; Chicago Early, an angel group that focuses on startups with Chicago ties, including many founded by Northwestern and University of Chicago alumni; and the the co-founder of the Silicon Valley Chapter of Golden Seeds, an investment firm focused on high potential female led companies.
Taelor also has a group of strategic investors in the fashion, corporate gifting, data analytics, shipping, and sustainability spaces. These investors include Sunny Huang, who is Executive Director of NewWide Group, a major manufacturer of LuluLemon, Adidas, and over 200 major brands, and who also runs Smart Capital, the largest angel group in Taiwan; founders of a successful data analytics company; the human resources head of a Fortune 500 company who oversees corporate employee gifting and perks; the owner of a shipping company; and a board member of Circular Taiwan Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to the circular economy.
Taelor first launched its service to a group of pilot customers in 2021. With this new financing, Taelor will be able to open its service to customers who are currently on the waitlist, as well as diversify its style offerings, expand operations, and continue to refine its styling algorithms.
“The future of menswear is access, not ownership,” said Anya Cheng, Taelor’s founder and CEO, who was a former product lead at Meta who helped create Facebook Shopping and previously held digital innovation leadership positions at eBay, Target, McDonald’s and Sears.
Phoebe Tan, Taelor’s other founder and COO, who previously served as an executive of a company that was an operations partner with Amazon Go and Starbucks, agrees that Taelor will appeal to today’s young men. “The younger generation is a lot more fashion conscious because of social media, and they also support sustainability and buying second-hand clothes. That’s why Taelor is really the perfect solution for many young men who want to look good but own less,” she said.
When customers first sign up at Taelor, they fill out a style questionnaire and then receive a personal consultation with one of Taelor’s stylists. Then the stylists, along with artificial intelligence, select clothes for the customers based on their personal preferences. The clothes are shipped directly to customers, who can either wear them for weeks and return them or purchase them for up to 70% off the regular retail price. Customers then receive another box of clothes.
For a flat monthly fee of $88 per month, customers get up to two boxes of clothes per month, which include four items in each box, including dress shirts, jackets, polo shirts, henley shirts and more. Taelor plans to add pants to its offerings soon. Dry cleaning and shipping is free both ways — making the process of renting and returning clothing effortless.
In addition to serving individual customers, Taelor plans to work with corporations to offer its subscription service as a perk or gift for employees and clients, as well as leverage its unique data to help brands and retailers predict trends and reduce unsold inventory.
“Taelor is like a launching pad for clothing brands,” Cheng, who used to work for Target, Sears and Kmart, said. “As an SAAS (software as a service) data company, we help brands and retailers test products, find new customers, and discover consumers’ true preferences.” “Our mission is to help people to look good, achieve goals and help save the environment,” Cheng said.
Ling said he was motivated to invest in Taelor because of its commitment to sustainability and its unique approach to helping fashion brands gain market insights. “Taelor saves time and money for consumers, customizing the experience for each consumer through AI, with a thoughtful focus on sustainability and re-use,” Ling said.
Taelor and Cheng have already received lots of attention and recognition. The company won first place at legendary investor Tim Draper’s startup competition, Draper Demo Day; was chosen as select team by the 500 Global (500 Startups) accelerator’s Taiwan Tech Arena Silicon Valley partnership program; received a 30 Under 40 Rising Star Entrepreneur Award; was named the west coast regional champion in Alumni New Venture Challenge, the University of Chicago’s Polsky Entrepreneurship Center startup competition; and was chosen as a SPARK Accel accelerator selected team, where Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch, and Patrick Lee, co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes, were their mentors.
Consumers who want to support sustainability can sign up for Taelor’s menswear rental subscription service or purchase a gift card at https://taelor.style. Use code GREEN for 20% off the first two months of subscription and GREENGIFT for a one-time 20% off gift card for Father’s Day. Menswear fashion brands who want to get involved in the sustainability space by participating in circular fashion and renting out inventory can contact Taelor at hi@taelor.ai.
Taelor's founders: Pheobe Tan and Anya Cheng
About Taelor
Taelor is a Silicon Valley-based menswear clothing rental subscription service. Our mission is to help people feel confident so that they can achieve their life and career goals while saving mindspace and playing a part in saving the environment. Our top-notch stylists, along with powerful algorithms, pick out the perfect clothes for you to make you stand out. When you're ready to swap, just return the dirty clothes and get the next box! As a data analytics firm, Taelor also helps clothing brands and retailers test products and predict trends, and the company’s goal is to be the world's most effective product-testing platform for clothing brands and retailers. Currently, Taelor is also offering subscriptions to corporations’ human resources departments to help organizations improve onboarding and new-hire productivity. For more information, visit https://taelor.style.
About Bling Capital
Bling Capital is a venture capital investment firm that was founded by Ben Ling, an early executive at Google and Meta (formally Facebook). It primarily invests in the consumer tech, internet, mobile, marketplace, data, fintech, SaaS, and automation sectors. The company focuses on investing in seed stage startups and is known for making quick investment decisions. Bling has previously invested in 10 unicorn companies, including Lyft, Instacart, Square, Airtable, Indiegogo, and Everlane. For more information about Bling Capital, please visit https://www.blingcap.com.
TTA Startups
Taelor is a clothing on-demand service for men and social media influencers. Powered by artificial intelligence in combination with a top-notch team of stylists, we deliver the pieces of clothing that will make you stand out for your everyday life. You can wear our clothes for a few weeks, and when you're ready to swap, just return the dirty clothes. And if you like what you order, you can also keep them -- it’s a great way of getting to try clothes on before you buy!
◆ Website: https://taelor.style/
◆ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Taelor.Style/?ref=page_internal
