Fleek secures $25M to digitise secondhand fashion

2026-07-08 · Source: Tech.eu - Tech.eu · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Emerging Technologies & Innovation, Data Science & Analytics · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

UK-based startup Fleek has secured \$25 million in Series B funding, led by Burda Principal Investments with participation from eBay, FJ Labs, H14, and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, and Y Combinator. Founded in 2021, Fleek operates an AI-powered B2B marketplace connecting over 2,000 wholesale secondhand clothing suppliers with more than 50,000 retailers and resellers across 100+ countries. The company aims to digitize the largely manual global secondhand clothing supply chain using proprietary AI tools like "Fleek Sort" for automated textile sorting, grading, and merchandising. The funding will expand its AI-native marketplace, automate sourcing and sorting, scale its technology platform, and grow its global network, having already helped keep over 12 million clothing items in circulation.

Key takeaway

For investors evaluating sustainable commerce startups, Fleek's \$25 million Series B funding highlights the significant potential in digitizing fragmented, manual supply chains like secondhand fashion. You should consider ventures that apply AI to automate core processes such as sorting, grading, and merchandising. This approach not only improves efficiency but also scales global reach, demonstrating clear value recovery and environmental impact.

Key insights

The secondhand clothing market's manual processes can be digitized and scaled using AI-powered marketplaces and sorting tools.

Principles

• AI can automate manual textile sorting and grading.
• Digital marketplaces connect global secondhand clothing supply chains.
• Continuous marketplace activity refines AI classification and pricing.

Method

Fleek's method involves using AI to identify, categorize, and grade garments from images/videos, then applying AI for pricing, search, and recommendations on a B2B marketplace.

In practice

• Implement AI for automated textile sorting and grading.
• Develop B2B marketplaces for niche, fragmented supply chains.
• Use marketplace data to improve AI models.

Topics

• Secondhand Fashion
• AI Marketplaces
• Textile Sorting AI
• Supply Chain Digitization
• Series B Funding
• Sustainable Commerce

Best for: Entrepreneur, Investor, Director of AI/ML

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Tech.eu - Tech.eu.