With venture capital pouring into artificial intelligence, retail startups are struggling to compete for funding.
PitchBook has tracked $396 million worth of VC deals in retail through December 19 of this year, down from a recent peak of $7.6 billion in 2021.
In the age of AI, new companies are under more pressure to prove their value to VCs. Founders are saying that the enormous fundraising seen during the pandemic has subsided in 2025. That’s especially true for e-commerce retailers, which make up a number of entries on this list, one founder told Business Insider.
Karl Bracken, founder and CEO of venture capital firm Ocampo Capital, discussed the state of the VC landscape in relation to retail on the “Omni Talk Retail” podcast in 2024.
“We’re coming off of, probably, the toughest time in the past decade for companies looking to raise funds,” Bracken said. “It’s really tough.”
In 2025, at least 11 retail startups still managed to raise $2 million or more in new funding, according to PitchBook. They include a mix of online marketplaces and brick-and-mortar stores. The list does not include some retail-adjacent AI companies, like fashion startup Phia, which raised $38 million in two funding rounds this year, according to PitchBook.
These are the startups that raised the most money in 2025, based on PitchBook data:
Gopuff: $250 million
Gopuff is a service that delivers convenience-store items, such as snacks, household essentials, alcohol, and more, to customers. Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev cofounded the company in 2013 while they were students at Drexel University.
In November, Gopuff said it raised $250 million in a funding round led by Eldridge Industries and Valor Equity Partners. The company said the new capital would help it invest in AI, consumer experience, and infrastructure expansions.
“The team has built meaningful momentum across the business. We’re back on offense, and we’re just getting started. The future is bright as we keep raising the bar for our customers,” Gola said in a November statement.
FanBasis: $20 million
FanBasis is a platform that enables influencers, celebrities, athletes, and others to monetize their fan base. Users can buy personalized experiences from celebrities, for example.
The company said in May that it raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital and including influencers like Ryan Serhant and The Sidemen.
“While we’re operating profitably, we may explore a Series B next year to further scale the platform and solidify FanBasis as the leading marketplace for digital products and services,” CEO Yash Daftary said in a statement.
Koala Health: $20 million
Koala is a pet health company offering an online pharmacy for pet owners and an integrated prescription platform for veterinary partners. Gavin Cotter founded the company in 2021. It said in May that it closed a $20 million Series B funding round.
“This funding allows Koala to continue investing in the technology and service infrastructure required to support modern pet health,” Cotter told Business Insider.
Stickerbox: $7 million
Stickerbox makes voice-controlled printers that use generative AI to create and print stickers based on user commands. It raised $7 million in a seed round with investors like Serena Ventures, Maveron, and AI2.
Stickerbox was launched by Hapiko, a Brooklyn-based company that creates children’s technology toys, which is run by CEO Arun Gupta.
“We sold through our entire 2025 inventory in under two weeks, saw early units resell for nearly three times the retail price, and printed thousands of stickers within the first days of use — all clear indicators of the unmet demand for creativity tools that prioritize imagination over screen time,” cofounders Gupta and Bob Whitney told Business Insider.
Kidsy: $4.5 million
Kidsy is an online marketplace for discounted children’s products, including new-in-box, open-box, and gently used items. It was founded by Shraysi Tandon and raised $4.5 million in a 2025 seed round led by 11 Tribes Ventures, she told Business Insider.
“I am in fundraising mode all of the time, which means I’m always keeping my relationships really warm,” Tandon said. “I’m already speaking to all of the Series A investors I’d like to work with and have been building those relationships for almost a year.
Union Chill Cannabis: $4.2 million
Union Chill Cannabis Company is a New Jersey-based cannabis retail platform that raised $4.2 million in 2025, according to PitchBook. It was founded by former CEO Laurie McHugh, who died in 2023.
“Tragically, our original founder, Laurie McHugh, passed away suddenly a few months after we opened,” Matthew Borish, vice president of marketing, told Business Insider. “We’re working hard to continue growing and making her vision and focus on community, integrity, social responsibility, and economic success a reality.”
AGCF: $3.5 million
AGCF, founded by Alexandra Gucci Zarini, launched in early 2024 with its first flagship boutique in Beverly Hills, California. The luxury brand sells handbags, jewelry, and other accessories. It raised $3.5 million in early-stage VC in February with four investors, according to PitchBook.
The brand declined to comment.
Miniswap Technologies: $3.5 million
Miniswap Technologies is a marketplace for complex hobbies, made for Warhammer collectors to buy and sell miniatures. It was founded in 2025 by college roommates and Cambridge University alums Will Hanna and Zak Singh, according to PitchBook.
The company, which was part of Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 cohort, raised $3.5 million in an early-stage funding round led by Funder’s Club with participation from Spot VC and Pioneer Fund, Hanna told Business Insider.
KM Tools: $2 million
KM Tools, founded by Jonathan Katz-Moses in 2015, manufactures and sells woodworking tools online. It raised $2 million in a later-stage VC round in 2025, according to PitchBook.
“This year, we approached venture fundraising with the same discipline we apply to product development: clarity, proof, and momentum” Katz-Moses told Business Insider.
“We prioritized partners who understood manufacturing, consumer products, and creator-led brands, and who could add strategic value beyond capital,” he added.
Secondsense: $2 million
Secondsense is an online platform that compares the prices of pre-owned luxury bags across marketplaces. Chris Lucas founded the company in 2024, according to PitchBook.
In 2025, Secondsense raised $2 million in funding, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
It has partnerships with marketplaces like TheRealReal, and it got a shoutout from popular influencer Alix Earle, which caused demand to crash the website in April.
Monte’s Fine Food: $2 million
Monte’s Fine Foods is a neighborhood market offering Roman-style pizza and a variety of other food options. It raised $2 million in a seed round in 2025 with one investor, according to PitchBook.
Monte’s Fine Foods didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post These 11 retail startups raised millions from VCs this year, from Gopuff to Stickerbox appeared first on Business Insider.
