- A new virtual try-on startup powered by AI is stirring up buzz in the tech world.
- Doji raised capital late last year in a round led by Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six fund.
- Its fundraising comes as some in tech are betting AI can reinvigorate the consumer startup space.
The tech industry is drooling over a new AI startup. This time, it’s in the fashion space.
Doji, a new app that allows users to create AI avatars with their own likeness and virtually try on clothing, launched from stealth in January and has been rolling out access to its private beta.
Techies are loving it.
Early beta testers, including some who work for other hot AI companies like Anthropic, Cursor, and Humane, have been taking to X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn to share screenshots of the AI-generated model versions of themselves wearing designer clothes.
One of Doji’s biggest fans: Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.
“Consumer is fun again thanks to AI,” Ohanian said in January about Doji in a post to X, where he’s been posting AI-generated fit pics from the beta.
Ohanian is also putting money behind it.
His venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six, invested in Doji, Business Insider has learned. Doji confirmed to BI that it raised an early-stage investment in 2024 from Seven Seven Six and Origins Fund. Doji did not disclose the size of the fundraise.
“Over the years, a lot of folks have tried to nail virtual try-on — the ultimate holy grail for recreating the dressing room experience online,” Chris Vanzetta, a partner at Seven Seven Six who led the deal, told BI in a statement. “Powered by their cutting-edge AI technology and incredible taste, Doji has finally brought that experience to consumers with its lifelike virtual avatars.”
Building AI for everyday consumers
Doji was cofounded by Dorian Dargan (previously at Meta and Apple) and Jim Winkens (previously at Google DeepMind) in 2024 after the two first met on Twitter in 2022.
The pair are self-professed fashion lovers who, in building Doji, are bringing together their AI and consumer expertise.
“We started it with ourselves as users in mind,” Dargan said. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why it’s being well received, because it’s actually designed for people versus just to be technology.”
Here’s how it works: Users upload several selfies from different angles and two full-body images, then wait about 20 minutes for the app’s AI to generate a virtual model.
In the app, users can try on products that the Doji team has curated, as well as import products with shoppable links, Dargan said. Then, if someone wants to buy a product they were virtually trying on, there is a button that brings the user to wherever that product is hosted online.
Consumer has been a sleepy segment of the startup market for years, but AI is pumping energy into the industry and getting some investors excited about opportunities.
“I think the smarter investors are seeing now that most of the value in AI is getting accrued at the application layer,” Winkens said. “We are seeing, also outside of us, money flowing into the application layer more and more.”
Doji isn’t the only virtual try-on startup to raise venture capital recently. Vybe, a browser extension for Safari that lets people virtually try on clothing while online shopping, announced a $4.75 million seed funding round led by Stellation Capital last summer.
Tech workers are driving hype for the app
Jane Manchun Wong, an engineer and tech blogger with access to Doji’s beta, told BI that she first learned about the app after seeing people she knew post about it on X.
One feature that made an impression on Wong was the option for Doji to generate potential outfits.
“I don’t really like to try out different choices of clothes, so having it be able to pick the clothes for me is really inspiring,” Wong told BI.
Karine Hsu, founder and CEO of startup creative agency Slope, who also uses Doji’s beta, said she was impressed by the tool’s accuracy. There have been a few instances where an item was transposed, or the fit was off, but it has been minor, she said.
Right now, Doji’s app includes a curated selection of designer items from brands like Maison Margiela, Diesel, and Rick Owens. Even though Hsu doesn’t purchase luxury goods, she said it’s been fun to try on things she wouldn’t buy herself and explore her personal style with shoes and accessories. She’s also used the feature where Doji users can input their own products from across the internet to try on.
“I did find myself inputting athleisure from Alo Yoga and more everyday items so I could see myself in them before purchasing,” she said. “I actually ended up going to the store to try on the product again, but it was cool that I had a reference photo that I could compare to.”
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