The round was led by Eleven Ventures, a prominent early-stage CEE fund with a strong track record of investing in over 170 tech companies, including Dronamics, Payhawk, and NitroPack. Czech VCs Lighthouse Ventures and Borovicka Capital also participated in the round.
The initial idea for OUTFINDO came from Jan Mateju. As a former professional cyclist, Jan often found himself helping friends and family choose the right bike. This experience highlighted the challenges shoppers face when navigating complex product categories online, where the lack of expert guidance often leaves customers overwhelmed and uncertain.
Choosing the right complex products online can be a daunting task. According to Outfindo’s user research, up to 99% of customers begin their shopping journey online for these types of purchases. However, 81% struggle with product selection due to complexity, and 76% prefer expert advice before making a decision.
Outfindo therefore tackles a critical e-commerce challenge: making the online selection of complex products easier for shoppers. Powered by a unique AI framework, the platform adapts to various product categories and equips online retailers with intelligent, plug-and-play guidance tools, while enabling customers to make well-informed purchasing decisions. By doing so, Outfindo brings expert-level guidance and personal touch, typically associated with specialized brick-and-mortar stores, into the digital shopping space.
Their flagship product, an AI-powered guide, integrates seamlessly into e-retailers’ product pages to significantly improve customer convenience and engagement. On average, 44% of visitors interact with the guide during their shopping journey, rising up to 72% on dedicated product guide pages. For online merchants, the benefits are substantial: conversion rates can increase up to threefold, while product returns drop by as much as 70%.
“We’re proud to partner with investors who bring a distinctive edge to the CEE region – ones who share our values and support projects with global ambitions. This investment will allow us to enter new markets faster and advance our technology, especially in the area of product data automation and enrichment. This is crucial for e-retailers who rely on platforms like Google Shopping, where optimizing the completeness and complexity of product data is essential,” explains Jan Mateju, CEO of Outfindo.
The latest investment will accelerate Outfindo’s expansion into new markets, broaden its reach across product verticals – such as air conditioners, gaming consoles, and digital cameras – scale operations to support growing demand, and enhance its product portfolio, with a focus on enriched product data. The roadmap also includes leveraging the Beacon model for a deeper AI-driven customer behavior analysis, expanding integration options with merchant catalogs, and developing advanced analytics tools. These innovations will provide e-retailers with automated dashboards and actionable insights into customer behavior.
“Our vision is that AI will reshape how we shop and how we select the right products for our needs. Outfindo’s value proposition is perfectly aligned in that direction, as they allow ecommerce stores to provide great user experience and continue to compete with the big guys,” says Ivaylo Simov, Partner at Eleven.
Outfindo currently supports more than 20 product verticals with plans to expand into other popular categories, including electronics, home appliances, sports equipment, and child care products. Another important goal is to introduce a self-service solution that will enable easy implementation for smaller e-commerce retailers.
“The promise of AI has always been to simplify the complexities of the world around us. Outfindo takes this further by not only streamlining the decision-making process but also tackling the biggest challenge in a shopper’s journey: the confidence of knowing they’ve made the right choice,” says Vojta Rocek, Partner at Presto Ventures, lead investor in the 2023 funding round.
In just one year, Outfindo has significantly expanded its portfolio and international reach. While the platform initially supported two product categories in two countries, it now covers 26 product categories across 10 countries, partnering with prominent e-retailers such as Grenion, Allegria, Bikero, or Cycles UK.
