With some assistance from artificial intelligence (AI) and a great deal of artistic vision, one business is reinventing the virtual fitting room.
Doji, a fashion-tech startup co-founded by Dorian Dargan and Jim Winkens, has raised $14 million in seed funding, led by Thrive Capital with participation from Seven Seven Six Ventures, to scale its AI-powered avatar app that lets users virtually try on clothes in a fun, social, and personalized way.
Dargan, Doji’s CEO, shared the news on his LinkedIn page, expressing his excitement about building a platform that puts users at the center of their fashion journey, stating, “Fashion is meant to be fun. But somewhere along the way, shopping for clothes online became overwhelming instead of exciting. We believe there’s a better way – one that celebrates creativity and self-expression.”
Doji, which combines the founders’ first names, Dorian and Jim, lets users upload selfies and full-body images to generate an avatar, as TechCrunch reports. From there, the app suggests looks based on favorite brands and allows users to mix and match clothing. Unlike traditional e-commerce, Doji emphasizes play, personalization, and community.
According to the outlet, Dargan, who previously worked on VisionOS at Apple and on Oculus Quest games and experiences at Meta, brings a deep understanding of avatar creation and immersive design. Winkens, formerly at DeepMind and Google, brings his research and generative AI-based consumer product expertise to the equation.
“I think people who have explored this idea before either haven’t had the technology chops to make it good or the taste to understand what actually makes a person feel good about an image of themselves,” Dargan told TechCrunch. “We have invested a lot in core technology to ensure the way you perceive yourself through images is interesting and inspiring,” he added.
While Doji is currently invite-only, it’s already live in over 80 countries, per the outlet. It also states that it takes about 30 minutes to generate a personalized avatar, and users can even upload links to external apparel to see how an item might look on them.
Doji is still refining features like fit prediction and in-app purchases, as the outlet reports, but the early response has been enthusiastic. Thrive Capital’s Miles Grimshaw shared that Doji has the potential to build a “virtual mirror” that simplifies and elevates the online shopping experience.
With this new funding, the Doji team plans to improve the speed and accuracy of its AI, expand avatar realism, and eventually integrate buying functionality, keeping users in the app from inspiration to checkout.
