HV Capital is a Munich- and Berlin-based venture capital firm that supports founders in developing their internet companies. Since 2000 HV Capital, formerly HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, has invested in Internet and technology companies through various generations of funds and is one of the most successful and financially strongest early-stage and growth investors in Europe. HV Capital has already invested in around 200 companies, including Zalando, Delivery Hero, FlixMobility and SumUp. The total of all HV Funds amounts to €1.7 billion. The company supports startups with capital between €500,000 and €50 million. This makes HV Capital one of the few venture capitalists in Europe that can finance startups through all growth phases.

HV Capital

Kinnevik is an industry-focused investment company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Its purpose is to build digital consumer businesses that provide more and better choices. The company does this by working in partnership with talented founders and management teams to create, invest in, and lead fast-growing businesses in developed and emerging markets. Kinnevik believes in delivering both shareholder and social value by building well-governed companies that contribute positively to society.  Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor, and von Horn families. Kinnevik's shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm's list for large-cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

Kinnevik

TEV is a spin-off from Tengelmann Ventures, which is the venture capital subsidiary of Tengelmann Group. The TEV team was responsible for Tengelmann Ventures’ Vintages I and II, two evergreen funds financed from the Tengelmann Group balance sheet. In the past 10 years the TEV team invested more than € 400m into companies that have become market leaders, among them Zalando, Delivery Hero, Klarna, Wish, Scalable Capital, data Artisans, Lazada and brands4friends.  TEV Ventures Vintage III is the third fund managed by the TEV team and the first one open to external LPs. Just as Vintage I and II, Vintage III will be focused on investments in early-stage companies in the consumer-internet, digital services and emerging technology areas. Geographical investment focus will be Germany (70%) and Europe more generally (30%). Fundraising started in July 2019.

TEV Ventures

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan invests and administers the pensions of active and retired teachers. It invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 284,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. A pension plan has existed for Ontario teachers since 1917. Today, the plan's members include 173,000 teachers in elementary and secondary schools in Ontario, 111,000 pensioners, and 72,000 inactive members. The plan has one of Canada's largest payrolls with $4.2 billion in benefits paid to plan members and $2.3 billion received in total contributions from teachers and the provincial government in 2008.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

TH Lee Putnam Ventures is a technology-focused private equity firm. We manage $1.1 billion in capital commitments and have invested approximately $850 million in more than 43 companies since the firm's formation in 1999.  Our primary focus is private transactions in later-stage venture companies whose success depends on the deployment and use of information technologies. In addition to later-stage venture companies, we will also consider public entities, middle market buyouts, recapitalizations and spinouts of corporate divisions.  We look for companies that have established revenue streams, a clear path to profitability and strong management. Our typical investment is between $20 and $50 million, although we take larger or smaller stakes, depending on particular circumstances.

TH Lee Putnam Ventures

J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC (''JPMP'') is a private equity division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). JPMP has invested over $15 billion worldwide in consumer, media, energy, industrial, financial services, healthcare, and technology companies since its inception in 1984. As of August 1, 2006, the senior professionals of JPMP have formed new entities independent of JPMorgan Chase & Co. As announced in March 2005, the buyout and growth equity professionals of JPMP have formed a new independent firm, CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC (''CCMP Capital''), and the venture professionals have separately formed a new independent firm, Panorama Capital, LLC (''Panorama''). CCMP Capital and Panorama will continue to manage the JPMP investments pursuant to a management agreement entered into with JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Partners

Quadrant Capital Advisors, Inc. is an investment advisory firm. Quadrant Capital Advisors is based in New York City.

Quadrant Capital Advisors

Zalando

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

Ambercycle is a material science company that adopts a molecular regenerative technology solution called “Ambercycling” to process post-consumer or end-of-life textile waste. The process separates cellulosic materials, dyes, and other components in the textile items and regenerates materials such as yarn and fibers that can be used by other brands and garment manufacturers.One patented material it produces is “Cycora’’, a regenerated fabric made out of textile waste.The company also sells Cycora based products online via its website. Key customers and partnerships• In May 2021, Ambercycle partnered with Avery Dennison to launch Ambercycle’s digital care label, which will be attached to its garments.• In June 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19207">Shinkong Synthetic Fibers</a>, a Taiwan-based chemical fiber and PET manufacturer, to produce yarns using Cycora and set up a large-scale manufacturing facility.• In October 2023, Ambercycle partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23110">Inditex</a> to sell 70% of Ambercycle's Cycora production supply over three years in a deal worth EUR 70 million (~USD 74 million).• In November 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23607">GANNI</a> to launch a collection based on textile-to-textile recycling.• In February 2024, the company partnered with lifestyle brand <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27314">Gap's </a>brand, Athleta, to utilize recycled textiles in Athleta's product line.• In June 2024, Ambercycle partnered with apparel manufacturer <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30325">MAS Holdings</a> to supply Cycora via a three year offtake agreement. Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23462">November 2023</a>, the company secured a USD 5 million investment from DRIVE Catalyst, the investment branch of Far Eastern Group to support the construction of Ambercycle's commercial-scale facility and the expansion of “Cycora.” Previously, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7542?industryIds=54">January 2022</a>, Ambercycle raised USD 21.6 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The funds were pledged to scale the production of its Cycora material.

Circ (previously known as Tyton Biosciences) recycles textile waste using its flexible hydrothermal processing technology that recycles a wide range of material waste, such as cotton, polyester, and polycotton according to customer specifications.As of November 2023, Circ has diverted 103 tons of textile waste and prevented 130,000 kg of CO2 emissions. By 2030, Circ expects to quintuple its capacity to 300,000 tons. Additionally, by 2026, Circ plans to open an industrial-scale factory by 2026 (capacity undisclosed) and expand globally to recycle 60,000 tons of textile waste annually.Key customers and partnerships• In September 2020, via Fashion for Good’s “Full Circle Textile” project, the company partnered with brands and retailers such as Kering and Target to promote using its recycled fiber (commonly known as cellulosic fiber).• In April 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17742">Zara</a>, a Spanish multinational retail clothing chain, to release a line of women’s apparel made with recycled polyester and cotton fibers using Circ's hydrothermal process.• In June 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19278">Acegreen</a> Eco-Material Technology, a Taiwan-based fiber manufacturer, to manufacture filament lyocell and collaborate on research and development projects.• In September 2023, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21673">Vivobarefoot</a>, a footwear company, to develop circular performance footwear.• In October 2023, Circ collaborated with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22952">Mara Hoffman</a> to create a luxury garment using Circ's lyocell.• In February 2024, the company partnered with material innovator <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26733">Pyratex</a> to advance sustainable textile production and recycling.Funding and FinancialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16785">March 2023</a>, the company raised USD 25 million in an extended Series B funding round backed by Zalando, Avery Dennison, and Youngone to accelerate its engineering expansion and deliver its first consumer products to market.

Based in Finland, Infinited Fiber Company (IFC) produces super fibers known as Infinna by recycling waste. The company’s carbon neutral fiber regeneration technology recycles waste from textile as well as non-woven industries. Its patented technology was initially developed by VTT Technical Research Institute of Finland, which was developed to convert textile, cardboard and agricultural waste to new and better textile fiber to adopt a circular model for converting waste to fiber.As of March 2024, IFC <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11313">invested</a> approximately EUR 400 million (~USD 422 million) in a commercial-scale factory in Kemi, Finland, to produce its “Infinna” fiber. The factory will have an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons and aims to commence commercial deliveries in January 2026. The company operates two pilot facilities with a combined capacity of 150 metric tons per annum.Key customers and partnerships In early 2022, the company secured a EUR 100 million worth three-year deal with leading Spanish retailer and Zara brand owner <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10426">Inditex</a>, to supply the latter with IFC’s Infinna material. During the same time, the company partnered with PVH Europe to supply Inifinna for use in PVH’s Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands; and with ​​Material science company Pangaia to launch a shirt manufactured using 100% Infinna. In July 2023, IFC signed an engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services contract with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16877">Rejlers</a> Finland for a circular textile fiber factory in Kemi, Finland. In October 2023, IFC partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23241">Lindex</a> to supply its Infinna fiber.Funding and FinancialsIn March 2024, Infinited Fiber Company raised <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27617">EUR 27 million</a> (~USD 29.4 million), marking the completion of a two-part development financing round totaling EUR 40 million (~USD 43.6 million). The funds were to be used to scale up the company’s patented technology.

Earth-friendly biotech solutions for the textile, packaging and construction industries.

Bio-based Materials

Infinited Fiber Company develops a technology to convert cellulose-based raw materials such as used cotton-rich textiles, cardboard, rice, and wheat straw into “Infinna”, a premium cotton-like textile fiber that can be used in clothing and upholstery. As of April 2021, the company operated pilot plants in the cities Espoo and Valkeakoski in Finland and had a capacity to produce 150 metric tons per year. Also in April, the company announced plans to build its EUR 220 million (USD 265 million) flagship factory in Finland. The new factory will produce its “Infinna” textile fiber using household textile waste as feedstock and will have a production capacity of 30,000 metric tons per year. The factory is expected to be operational in 2024. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16877">March 2023</a>, the company signed an engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services contract with Rejlers Finland, a leading engineering consultancy firm, for a circular textile fiber factory in Kemi, Finland. Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;The company has partnered with brands such as H&amp;M, Patagonia, PVH, Adidas, and Bestseller for the use of Infinna. The company has also partnered with manufacturers of non-woven goods, such as Suominen, to use Infinna in products such as diapers and wet wipes. Funding and financialsIn July 2021, Infinited Fiber raised EUR 30 million (USD 36 million) with H&amp;M as lead investor. The funds were intended to expedite the launch of its flagship factory and to increase production at its existing pilot factories. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27617">March 2024</a>, the company raised EUR 27 million (~USD 29.4 million) to scale up its technology.

Marketplaces and related solutions for selling goods and services online

Ecommerce Platforms

Saleor is a headless, GraphQL-first, open-source ecommerce platform that enables businesses to create lightning-fast, dynamic, and personalized online shopping experiences. It provides a lightweight front-end driven by a GraphQL API, compiled with React and TypeScript. Saleor allows for seamless integration with preferred CRM, CMS, delivery, and fulfillment services.
Developed in Python and Django, Saleor offers a powerful product configuration system with flexible product types, unlimited product attributes, and the ability to create product bundles and collections. It supports multi-currency, multi-language, and multi-warehouse capabilities, catering to global businesses from day one. Saleor's architecture ensures high performance, SEO efficiency, and accessibility across devices.
The platform provides an intuitive admin dashboard for managing products, orders, and fulfillment processes. It leverages technologies like machine learning for data-driven marketing and upselling. As a Progressive Web App (PWA), Saleor delivers an app-like experience, enabling offline browsing, push notifications, and faster checkout times.
Key customers and partnerships
Saleor has been adopted by renowned brands such as Lush, a leading retailer of handcrafted cosmetics, Breitling, a luxury watchmaker, and PrettyGreen, a fashion brand founded by Liam Gallagher. It has also partnered with companies like Zalando, a leading European ecommerce destination, to explore joint initiatives focused on multi-market commerce scalability. The platform has also collaborated with Content Management Systems like Strapi and Contentful for seamless integration.

Empowering efficiency, visibility and collaboration throughout supply networks

Supply Chain Tech

TrusTrace offers a blockchain-based platform to provide end-to-end traceability and visibility in supply chains. The platform leverages AI, blockchain, software bots, and IoT technologies to provide traceability across high-volume footwear and textile value chains. Specifically, it delivers supply chain traceability in three levels including supplier mapping, product traceability, and material traceability. This enables its users to track, verify, and share detailed information about their products' origins, production processes, and environmental impact.The platform has been built on an open architecture, enabling easy integration with existing systems. As of October 2023, the company claimed that its platform was used by over 10,000 users and over 8,000 active suppliers and that it had traced over 250,000 products and materials as well as over USD 18 billion worth of goods.As of October 2023, the company had established a presence in Sweden, the US, India, and France. In 2022, the company recorded 223% revenue growth in the US and estimated that the US will account for a third of global revenue at the end of 2023.Key customers and partnershipsAs of March 2023, the customer base of the company included four of the 10 largest global footwear brands, three of the top 10 global apparel brands, and a top-10 global luxury fashion brand. The company also reported that its customers included over 50 global brands like Filippa K, Adidas, DIESEL, HOUDINI, and Decathlon.In September 2024, TrusTrace, Xoriant, and Carbon Trail <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33717">collaborated</a> to launch a solution for product marketing accountability in fashion and retail. The partnership aimed to combine TrusTrace's supply chain traceability data, Xoriant's data architecture, and Carbon Trail's environmental impact data to help brands implement more transparent product marketing, comply with regulations like the Green Claims Code, and provide accurate environmental impact information for Digital Product Passports.

The next-generation, open-source, headless e-commerce platform. Fast. Open. Maintainable.

Infinited Fiber Company is a Finnish biotech founded in 2016 to commercialize a breakthrough recycling technology that can turn cellulose-rich raw materials – like cotton-rich textile waste, used cardboard, or wheat or rice straw – into high-quality textile fibers with the look and feel of cotton. The patented technology has been validated by leading brands and is ready to be scaled. Infinited Fiber Company won the Europas 2020 Hottest Sustainability Tech Award, and was listed on the Global 50 to Watch by Cleantech Group in 2019. In 2016 Infinited Fiber Company was selected into WWF’s Climate Solver network. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland.

Circ helps industries meet consumer expectations for sustainability without compromises in quality, price, or convenience. It recycles discarded clothing to produce the basis of petroleum- and plant-based fabrics. Tyton’s virgin-equivalent, market-grade dissolving pulp, and petroleum monomers can be sold at the same cost as virgin materials to manufacturers who make fibers. Whether cotton, poly-cotton, polyester, nylon, or other fibers, it aims to cost-effectively recycle these materials using water as a solvent.  It was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Danville, Virginia.

Ambercycle is a material science company that transforms textile waste into fresh materials for brands and producers. Ambercycle is assembling the world's used-up textiles into one centralized ecosystem, including everything from loose bits to tattered t-shirts. Ambercycle isolates components in intricate fabrics using a molecular regeneration technique to produce raw materials from streams that are typically challenging to recycle. Ambercycle enables regional and international players to easily reroute their waste products back into supply chains.

Magazino develops and builds perception-controlled, mobile robots for intralogistics. With Magazinos technology individual objects can be identified on the shelf and localized via 2D and 3D cameras, securely grasped and finally placed precisely at their destination.The first self-thinking and self-acting warehouse in the world - that is their vision. With their work they want to promote the development of robotics and actively shape the future of logistics.

TrusTrace is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company providing a platform dedicated to product traceability and compliance. The technology developed by the company empowers global brands and suppliers to standardize the capture, digitization, and sharing of supply chain and material traceability data. By consolidating all reliable supply chain traceability data on a single platform, brands can substantiate product claims and adhere to regulatory compliance with the appropriate evidence readily available.

Ivyrevel is a digital fashion house, tailored for our GENERATION.  They are inspired by urban contrasts, STRONG independent women and by the contemporary now. Drawn by opposites, we’re mixing both uptown and downtown in our collections. Their style is POLISHED, loud and extrovert with feminine silhouettes and ample amounts of attitude. Attention to visual details is of great importance since we value design that makes us look stunning both ONLINE and offline.

PAIR Finance is the leading fintech for AI-based debt collection in Europe. The company is transforming the debt collection industry by making receivables management sustainable, digital, efficient and customer-focused: With the help of artificial intelligence, behavioral analytics and data science, PAIR Finance is setting a new standard in debt collection that supports business customers and consumers alike. More than 600 companies from a wide range of industries are already working successfully with the collection solution for the digital age. The fast-growing company, which was founded in Berlin in 2016, has a renowned private equity investor, Pollen Street, at its side. PAIR Finance has more than 250 experienced employees and is led by founder and CEO Stephan Stricker.

FashionTrade is an online fashion marketplace where brands and retailers can connect and do their wholesale business online. We make the selling and buying process simpler and more efficient - minimising costs, saving time and improving brand and retailer margins.  We operate globally and have responded to a shift in the industry landscape. It is a shift towards digital solutions that enable and improve the scalability and efficiency of fashion brands and retailers alike.  Our core technology is a highly advanced cloud-based developed specifically for the B2B fashion industry. We are search and data driven and via strategic collaborations have developed a highly scalable, always-on platform.   The time has come for the fashion industry to embrace technology and revolutionise their ways of working.

Buying Show born in 2015 from fashion industry professionals who, after working for more than 20 years in the fashion industry, were frustrated by the slow and sometimes old-fashioned nature of the industry. They believe that through technology, they can help fashion industry professionals speed up sales cycles, shorten lead times, find customers and extend the buying seasons for collections, even with small teams.

Fashwell automatically recognizes and tags products in images. Their cutting-edge deep learning algorithms are tuned to identify fashion and furniture in images. They leverage this tech to power visual search solutions for eCommerce players around the world. Easy to integrate into any platform, their products boost conversion, create new revenue channels and increase user engagement.

Anatwine is a unique software as a service company that combines state of the art software with unique ecommerce skills.

Le New Black is the #1 B2B E-commerce platform for international fashion brands and retailers. Working with over 10,000 buyers and 250 brands including AMI Paris, Kenzo, Lanvin, Lemaire, Le Mont Saint-Michel, Paul & Joe, Jacquemus, Paco Rabanne, Etudes Studio, Stutterheim, Baum und Pferdgarten etc...   It provides a powerful set of tools for smarter lead & sales management :   Ipad app for offline order taking, online B2B showroom for 24/7 retailers access and order management via a web interface. Brand’s productivity immediately raises up to 25%, their wholesale process is 3x faster.  Le New Black is also a wholesale marketplace that helps the brands to get more visibility, increase their buyers and their wholesale revenue.

Zalando is a European online fashion platform- offering a broad assortment of fashion for men, women and children. It carries over 1.500 brands and over 150.000 product choices for over 17 million customers in 15 countries.  By constantly optimising its processes and platform offerings, using its e-commerce expertise and lots of can-do spirit, Zalando have become Europe's leading online fashion retailer in only a few years. Its goal is to create the world’s best online fashion experience. The cores of its business are what the company focuses on, always striving to be cutting-edge in fashion, technology, marketing, and logistics.  Zalando SE in Berlin is the group’s centrepiece which focuses on the development of its core product: the online shopping experience. Zalando SE operates the international business and takes care of their business development. Zalando SE comprises functions like the management, marketing, administration, and technology.

<div> Zalando SE (FWB: ZAL) is Europe's leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle. Founded in 2008 in Berlin by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, Zalando has grown rapidly to become one of the continent's largest ecommerce companies. The company went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2014. Zalando operates as a multi-brand online retailer and marketplace, offering a wide range of products including: <ul> <li> Clothing, shoes and accessories for men, women and children </li> <li> Beauty products and cosmetics </li> <li> Home accessories and decor items </li> <li> Sports gear and equipment </li> </ul> The company partners with over 7,000 brands, ranging from popular high-street labels to luxury designer names. Zalando also develops and sells its own private label brands. Its platform serves around 50 million active customers across 25 European markets. In 2023, Zalando reported revenue of EUR 10.14 billion, down slightly from EUR 10.34 billion in 2022. The company aims to capture 15% of the European fashion market in the long-term, estimated to be worth EUR 450 billion. To achieve this, Zalando is expanding both its business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) operations. In B2C, it is enhancing categories like Sports and Kids &amp; Family while offering more personalized shopping experiences. For B2B, Zalando is leveraging its logistics and software capabilities to facilitate ecommerce transactions for other businesses, with plans to develop this into a multi-billion euro segment by 2028. </div>

Zalando Taps Crossmedia For Global Media Duties

Incorporating technology into the fast-moving world of fashion

Fashion Tech

Companies that use technology to capture user's sizes to create custom clothing on-demand.

Platforms that help provide style and outfit recommendations to customers based on their preferences. These are typically provided via apps and are used for recommendation purposes only.

Online platforms that help retailers and manufacturers enable their customers to virtually try on apparel.

Platforms and systems that track trends and data for both fashion brands and retailers to optimize operations.

Platforms that help apparel manufacturers disrupt traditional manufacturing and inventory practices through innovation through processes such as 3D printing.

Zalando

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