Onton Raises $7.5M to Expand Its AI-Powered Shopping Platform Beyond Furniture

AI is no longer just for generating or summarising content — it’s becoming a tool for smarter shopping. Major players like OpenAI, Google, and Amazon are building AI assistants to help users explore product categories and make purchase decisions. Startups including Perplexity, Daydream, and Cherry are also innovating in AI-driven product discovery.

Onton, formerly known as Deft, has been at the forefront of AI-powered furniture shopping. The platform has grown its user base from 50,000 monthly active users to over 2 million, handling millions of searches and image generation requests.

Today, Onton announced a $7.5 million funding round led by Footwork, with participation from Liquid 2, Parable Ventures, 43, and others, bringing the company’s total funding to roughly $10 million. The startup plans to use the capital to expand into new product categories, starting with apparel and eventually consumer electronics.

Co-founder Zach Hudson explained that while large language models (LLMs) are effective at predicting intent, they have not fully solved key e-commerce challenges. Onton employs a neuro-symbolic architecture that eliminates hallucinations from LLMs and provides logical, accurate search results. The AI can also incorporate real-world knowledge not explicitly listed in product descriptions.

Image Credits: Onton

“For example, if you want pet-friendly furniture, our system knows polyester items resist stains and scratches better,” Hudson said. “Our tools learn from every search and improve rapidly.” Onton’s model also accounts for variations in how products are named across different sites, ensuring users find relevant results even when terminology differs.

Onton offers multiple input methods, including image uploads and prompts, to help users visualise furniture for their home or office. Its infinite canvas feature allows users to combine existing images with products for ideation, making it easier to design spaces even without precise descriptions.

Image Credits: Onton

These innovations have reportedly increased conversion rates by 3-5x compared to traditional e-commerce platforms, as users can trust the AI-driven recommendations. Hudson noted that the technological enhancements also make expanding into apparel smoother, with Onton currently building its catalogue for the category. The company will compete with other AI-powered shopping platforms like Daydream, Aesthetic, and Style.ai.

Since 2023, Onton has grown from three full-time employees to ten, with plans to expand to 15, hiring engineers and researchers to support the company’s growth.