Bengaluru-based AI startup Demoverse has raised $600,000 in a pre-seed round led by Lumikai, as it looks to bring consumers into product development before brands commit to manufacturing.
Lumikai invested $500,000 through Pixels, its pre-seed programme for founders building interactive consumer platforms. UAE-based investor-operator Marlan and a group of angel investors also participated in the round.
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Demoverse Wants Consumers to Help Shape Products
Demoverse is starting with fashion and uses AI to allow consumers to modify and refine product concepts shared by brands. Other community members can then review and vote on the ideas, giving brands an early indication of what consumers want before production begins.
Consumers whose ideas make it into a final product can also earn royalties when it is commercialised.
The startup describes this as a shift from user-generated content (UGC) to “user-generated products” (UGP). The idea is to move consumers beyond creating content around brands and give them a role in creating the products themselves.
The model focuses on a long-standing challenge for consumer brands: predicting demand before manufacturing. McKinsey and the Business of Fashion estimated that the fashion industry generated $70 billion-$140 billion in excess inventory in 2023.
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Startup Plans Expansion Beyond Fashion
Demoverse, founded by Akshay Mehta, has previously conducted early trials with Indian consumer brands. The new funding will help convert those partnerships into paid campaigns.
Mehta has previously held investing, consulting and operating roles at Bain, Z47, formerly Matrix Partners India, Asia Alternatives and the UAE’s Royal Group’s deep-tech investment platform. He also helped build the UAE’s first commercial-scale satellite manufacturing facility.
Mehta said social media had trained people to form and express opinions about products, while AI now lets consumers express those preferences visually.
Demoverse plans to expand beyond fashion into categories including beauty and consumer packaged goods.
Lumikai founder and managing partner Salone Sehgal said AI could enable brands to create many products, but the challenge remains knowing what consumers actually want. Demoverse’s approach allows consumers to shape products before they are made, rather than relying only on surveys or trend reports.
Demoverse is betting on a simple shift in the consumer-brand relationship, from asking people what they may buy to involving them in deciding what gets made.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
