Shopping app Ably raises another $55 mn

South Korea-based Ably Co., operator of the fashion app Ably, announced on Jun. 2 that it has raised 62 billion won ($55.7 million) in a Series B extension round, bringing its total Series B funding to 99 billion won.

Participants of the latest round include SV Investment, Premiere Partners, Intervest, STIC Ventures, Smilegate Investment, Capstone Partners, and L&S Venture Capital.

Last July, Ably secured 27 billion won in Series B funding from five companies, including Korea Development Bank and Signite Partners. It then went on to raise an additional 10 billion won after being recognized as a future unicorn.

So far, the company has raised a total of 106 billion won, including the 7 billion won Series A round in 2019.

Launched in March 2018, Ably is a smart commerce platform that recommends personalized fashion items using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that analyzes customers' unique styles and interests.

For example, Ably's system analyzes big data such as "save for later" items and purchase history to match the customer’s preferences to a variety of items that suit their style.

Ably has been showing strong growth. In the three years since its inception, the total number of Ably app downloads has reached 20 million, with the total transaction volume topping 600 billion won.

In 2020, the app became the most popular fashion app by monthly active users.

The app has expanded its offerings from fashion to home decoration, handmade goods, and cosmetics.

The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate its launch onto the global stage, alongside enhancing its AI preference recommendation system and fulfillment service.

"Using this investment, we will cement our place as the frontrunner in the smart commerce platform business by improving our highly personalized fashion recommendation algorithm that connects each customer to items that suit their taste," said Kang Seok-hoon, the chief executive of Ably.

Write to Jong-woo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com
Elaine Jiwon Kim edited this article.