Lalaland is an Amsterdam-Based Dutch tech startup that creates artificial intelligence based virtual models for e-commerce,[1] founded in 2019 by Michael Musandu and Ugnius Rimsa. In 2022 it would win the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge.[2] Then in 2022 its founders would join the European Forbes 30 under 30 list as well as Levi Strauss & Co. announcing a partnership with the company.[3][4]
| Industry | Fashion-Tech |
|---|---|
| Founder | Michael Musandu, Ugnius Rimsa |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Number of employees | 10-50 |
| Website | lalaland |
History
editThe startup was co-founded in 2019 by Michael Musandu and Ugnius Rimsa.[5] Lalaland states that the concept of creating AI based synthetic, full-body virtual supermodels is aimed to replace the traditional human models to reduce cost to vendors and to increase diversity in product representation.[6]
In April 2020, Lalaland received a pre-seed funding from Amsterdam-based venture capital fund ASIF Ventures.[6] In May 2020, Lalaland won the 15th Philips Innovation Award.[7] In June 2021, the startup received €350.000 funding from Google under its program to fund the ventures initiated by the people of color.[8]
In January 2022, Lalaland won the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge,[2] which includes a prize of €100,000 and mentorship opportunities.[9]
In June 2022 Lalaland raised €2.1M in a new pre-Series-A round of funding.[10]
In March 2022 Michael and Ugnius made it to the European Forbes 30 under 30 list in the retail and e-commerce list, which identifies entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who, the Forbes page notes, are “reinventing how we shop, both online and offline.”[3] The same month, Levi Strauss & Co. announced a partnership with the aim for later this year, to test AI-generated models to supplement human models, increasing the number and diversity of their models for their products in a sustainable way.[4]
References
edit- ^ Zolfagharifard, Ellie (2021-01-06). "Virtual supermodels dig their heels into the fashion industry". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ a b "Fashion Frontier Challenge". Make It Possible. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
- ^ a b "Nederlanders in Forbes 30 under 30: Omoda's CEO en de oprichters van Lalaland". FashionUnited (in Dutch). 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ a b "LS&Co. Partners with Lalaland.ai". LeviStrauss. 2023-03-22.
- ^ "Synthetische media: de positieve businesscases van deepfakes". Emerce (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ a b "Amsterdam student-run VC fund ASIF Ventures invests in LALALand, another ACE Incubator alumni | Silicon Canals". 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "Lalaland Amsterdam winnaar Philips Innovation Award 2020". wijNederland (in Dutch). 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "These are the 30 hottest black-led companies according to Google's startup team". CityAM. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "Winners of the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge Recognized for Driving Social Innovation and Inclusivity in the Fashion Industry". DutchNews.nl. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
- ^ Terra, Caitlyn (2022-06-10). "Fashion-tech start-up Lalaland haalt investering van 2,1 miljoen euro binnen". FashionUnited (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-09-12.