Within the highly competitive online fashion marketplace, shoppers are presented with a vast array of choices, often requiring them to individually browse numerous brands to find items they like. This process is frequently unsatisfactory, and existing data like purchase history and cookies often prove insufficient for truly personalized experiences. Suggesting only similar items – such as repeatedly recommending army-green military jackets to someone who already purchased one – is unlikely to resonate with customers.

Psykhe (branded as “PSYKHE”) is a new e-commerce company that leverages artificial intelligence and psychological principles to deliver product recommendations tailored to both a user’s personality profile and the inherent ‘personality’ of the products themselves. While several startups have previously attempted similar approaches, Psykhe asserts a distinctive methodology, aiming to simplify fashion shopping by functioning as an aggregator of products from prominent fashion retailers. The company states that each customer encounters a uniquely customized storefront that becomes progressively more personalized over time.

The company has recently secured $1.7 million in seed funding from various investors and is announcing plans to broaden the application of its technology to other consumer product categories in the future, operating within a B2B framework.

The investors include Carmen Busquets, a significant early investor in Net-a-Porter; SLS Journey, the investment division of the MadaLuxe Group, a North American distributor of luxury fashion; John Skipper, chairman of DAZN and former co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of ESPN; and Lara Vanjak, chief operating officer at Aser Ventures, previously with MP & Silva and FC Inter-Milan.

Specifically, as a B2C aggregator, Psykhe compiles inventory from leading retailers. The platform then employs machine learning and personality-trait analysis to align product recommendations with users based on a personality assessment completed during registration. The company reports that it has patents pending internationally and has established affiliate partnerships with major retailers such as Moda Operandi, MyTheresa, LVMH’s 24S platform, and 11 Honoré.

The revenue model centers on an affiliate partnership structure, generating commissions ranging from 5-25% on each sale. Furthermore, the company intends to extend its reach into the B2B sector, offering a plug-in product that enables personality-based product sorting for other consumer businesses.

The effectiveness of this personality assessment stems from Psykhe’s assignment of a comprehensive psychological profile to the products themselves – encompassing over 1 million items from its commerce partners, utilizing machine learning techniques (based on established training data).

For instance, a leather boot adorned with metal studs, conveying a more “rebellious” aesthetic, would receive a moderate-to-low rating on the trait of “Agreeableness.” Conversely, a pink floral dress would achieve a higher score on this trait. A traditional tweed blazer would be assigned a lower score on the trait of “Openness,” as tweed blazers typically represent a more conservative style and disposition.

Currently, Psykhe’s retail partners include Moda Operandi, MyTheresa, LVMH’s 24S, Outdoor Voices, Jimmy Choo, Coach, and the size-inclusive platform 11 Honoré.

Its competitors consist of The Yes and Lyst. However, Psykhe differentiates itself through its personality scoring system. Moreover, The Yes is exclusively app-based, limited to the U.S. market, and collaborates solely with single-brand retailers, while Lyst functions as an aggregator with thousands of brands but is primarily utilized as a search engine.

Psykhe is well-positioned to benefit from the continuing impact of COVID-19, which continues to significantly boost global e-commerce as consumers increasingly shop online during periods of lockdown.

The startup was founded by Anabel Maldonado, CEO & founder, alongside founding team members CTO Will Palmer and lead Data Scientist, Rene-Jean Corneille (pictured above). Maldonado initially studied psychology in Toronto before joining the U.K.’s NHS, working within a specialist team focused on developmental diagnoses for children under 5.

She transitioned into the fashion world after winning a competition for an editorial mentorship at British Marie Claire. Subsequent roles included positions in the press department of Christian Louboutin, internships at the Mail on Sunday and Marie Claire, and several years in magazine publishing before entering e-commerce at CoutureLab. After working freelance with numerous luxury brands and platforms as an editorial consultant, she also contributed industry opinion pieces to publications like The Business of Fashion, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and Marie Claire.

Having spent a decade within the fashion industry, she expressed frustration with narratives that “portrayed fashion as superficial. “I believed that, as a trillion-dollar industry, we all experience strong emotional and instinctive responses to aesthetics based on our individual identities, yet the conversation consistently revolved around fleeting trends and so-called ‘must-haves’.”

She observed, however, “there was a lack of exploration into individual differences. This realm was missing the depth it deserved, and I aimed to demonstrate that we are all sensitive to aesthetics in some way and that our clothing choices have a significant psychological impact, reflecting our unique internal needs.” This led her to establish a startup dedicated to exploring “fashion psychology” – or, as she defines it, “the reasons behind why we wear what we wear.”