Onton Raises $7.5M: Can It Revolutionize Online Shopping?

Onton, the AI-powered shopping platform previously known as Deft, is accelerating its mission to simplify online decision-making with a new $7.5 million seed investment. 

The funding round, led by Footwork with participation from Liquid 2, Parable Ventures, and 43, brings the company’s total raised capital to roughly $10 million and comes at a time when consumers are increasingly overwhelmed by the complexity of online shopping. With major tech companies like OpenAI, Google, and Amazon pushing AI-driven product discovery, Onton has emerged as a standout solution by tackling the deeper structural problems that slow down purchasing decisions across the web (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance).

The company has experienced rapid user growth, expanding from 50,000 monthly active users to more than 2 million, serving millions of searches and image generations (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance). This momentum reflects a broader industry shift, where shoppers face an internet crowded with unverified listings, outdated filters, SEO-optimized pages, and conflicting reviews. According to Onton, the average person now takes 79 days to make a single purchase decision, a statistic that underscores just how complex shopping has become (GlobeNewswire). Onton aims to significantly reduce that number by pairing AI precision with interfaces that help users find exactly what they want, whether they can articulate it or not.

Onton’s technology is built on a neurosymbolic AI architecture designed to solve problems that large language models alone cannot. While traditional LLMs can guess intent, Onton’s system blends symbolic reasoning with machine learning to eliminate hallucinations, make logical inferences, and learn from real-world patterns not explicitly stated in product descriptions (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance). For example, the platform can recognize that polyester-based furniture tends to be more pet-friendly due to its resistance to stains and scratches, knowledge that users may not explicitly search for but still need to make informed decisions. This capability has helped Onton consistently outperform traditional e-commerce platforms, achieving conversion rates three to five times higher than industry norms (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance).

Onton’s interface also sets it apart. Beyond standard search, users can upload photos, provide prompts describing a desired look, or generate images for inspiration. Tools such as Imagine, Surfaces, and an infinite canvas allow shoppers to visualize room designs, restyle spaces, and integrate existing furniture into new layouts (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance; GlobeNewswire). The platform even aggregates information from across the internet into unified product listings, eliminating the need to jump across multiple sites to compare options. The result is a shopping experience that feels more like consulting a knowledgeable friend than sifting through endless tabs.

The startup’s origins stem from the founders’ personal frustrations. Co-founder Alex once spent 30 hours trying to find a specific mid-century gray couch, while CEO Zach Hudson had long been studying trust issues in online reviews (GlobeNewswire). When the two met at a YC Startup School event, they realized they were tackling the same problems from different angles. Their collaboration led to early wins, including acceptance into the On Deck Fellowship and recognition from Pioneer, eventually culminating in a product that today supports millions of users worldwide.

Onton has already grown from three employees in 2023 to ten today, with plans to scale to fifteen by hiring additional engineers and researchers (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance). The new funding will accelerate that expansion and support upcoming launches into high-demand categories such as apparel and consumer electronics, areas where Onton will face competition from startups like Daydream, Aesthetic, and Style.ai (TechCrunch; Yahoo Finance). The company is also preparing to expand its knowledge graph and build a customizable search engine capable of adapting to individual users over time, with the long-term vision of becoming a global decision-making tool for every product category in every country (GlobeNewswire).

As AI becomes embedded in the shopping experience, Onton represents a shift toward more transparent, intelligent, and trustworthy product discovery. Its rapid growth, innovative technology, and user-focused design position it as a defining player in the future of online retail.

This article was written by the Covertly.AI team. Covertly.AI is a secure, anonymous AI chat that protects your privacy. Connect to advanced AI models without tracking, logging, or exposure of your data. Whether you’re an individual who values privacy or a business seeking enterprise-grade data protection, Covertly.AI helps you stay secure and anonymous when using AI. With Covertly.AI, you get seamless access to all popular large language models - without compromising your identity or data privacy.

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Works Cited

“AI Startup Onton Raises $7.5M to Reinvent the Way the World Discovers and Decides What to Buy.” GlobeNewswire, 26 Nov. 2025, www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/26/3195161/0/en/AI-startup-Onton-raises-7-5M-to-reinvent-the-way-the-world-discovers-and-decides-what-to-buy.html.

“Onton Raises $7.5M to Expand Its AI-Powered Shopping Site Beyond Furniture.” TechCrunch, 26 Nov. 2025, techcrunch.com/2025/11/26/onton-raises-7-5m-to-expand-its-ai-powered-shopping-site-beyond-furniture/.

“Onton Raises $7.5M to Expand Its AI-Powered Shopping Site Beyond Furniture.” Yahoo Finance, 26 Nov. 2025, finance.yahoo.com/news/onton-raises-7-5m-expand-120000590.html.