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Social commerce startup Haz raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to connect people through the things they own

London startup Hazthe AI-powered social commerce app that connects friends through the things they own has raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding led by Speedinvest with participation from scouting programs A16Z (Reface co-founder Dima Shvets), Atomico (Sameer Singh), Concept Ventures (Oliver Kicks) and people from Lapse, Lendable, Lottie and Ecoigo.

The money will be used to develop its own artificial intelligence technology and launch the platform in the UK, followed by expansion across Europe.

“82% of Gen Z now think about the resale value of an item before they even buy it, and yet 47% of resaleable items go unsold,” says Haz co-founder Ronan Harvey-Kelly.

“It takes a long time to resell something, and consumers still lack the data they need to make informed resale decisions. That’s where Haz comes in.”

Emperia founder and CEO Olga Dogadkina talks about the challenges and rewards that await the virtual store company as it turns five

Olga Dogadkina, founder and CEO of Emperiaon social media she talked about the fact that her company is turning five years old.

Emperia has created an immersive commerce platform at the intersection of Web2 and Web3, enabling brands and retailers to strengthen their online channels through virtual stores.

It has been nominated for the RTIH Innovation Awards 2023.

In a LinkedIn post with photos taken over the past few years, Dogadkina wrote: “It’s hard for me to believe that Emperia turns five today.”

“In these five years, we have seen (and contributed to) the world moving from the concept of ‘VR will never work’, ‘What’s the point of 3D’ and ‘It will take 15 years to get anywhere with this’ idea’ to spatial computing, immersive commerce and 3D strategies being targeted and planned by almost every company. And we’re just getting started.”

She noted that being a founder is by far the most challenging and rewarding career journey.

It’s a journey full of ups and downs, tearing down walls, putting out fires to start new ones and learning something new every day.

Dogadkina concluded: “I am incredibly grateful to my team for making changes together. Our investors and customers who share our vision. And most of all, I am grateful to Simonas Holcmann (Co-Founder and CTO of Emperia) for sharing this crazy ride with me.

Walmart Realm leverages Emperia technology for the industry’s first influencer-led virtual stores in immersive worlds

The Kingdom of Walmart was launched and presented as a first-of-its-kind immersive shopping marketplace featuring virtual stores run by influencers.

This leverages Emperia’s technology and gamifies the shopping journey, transporting customers to a fantasy land where they can interact with products and play nostalgic games online.

In a post on LinkedIn, Justin Breton, director of brand experience and strategic partnerships, said: “Introducing Walmart Realm, the first-ever immersive retail experience curated by creators and inspired by social trends. Trust me when I say… You’ve never experienced online shopping like this before.”

“Walmart Realm leverages the limitless possibilities of virtual technologies to create wonderful shopping experiences that inspire our customers. In other words, it is not just a replica of a store or facility.”

“We continue to shorten the gap between inspiration and commerce by highlighting the best fashion, beauty and home products selected by our creator partners in each virtual store.”

US-based Ordergroove is bringing its subscription technology platform for brands and retailers to the UK

Order Groovesubscription technology platform for brands and retailers has announced its expansion into the UK.

British brands including Halfords, Hotel Chocolat and Lily’s Kitchen are regular customers of Ordergroove.

The company says it has seen an increase in interest from British retailers looking to improve their customers’ experiences in recent months, prompting the technology provider to officially expand into the UK.

Companies such as Molton Brown, Untamed, Philip Kingsley, YuMove, Augustinus Bader and FlowerBX are now ready to introduce new and improved experiences for subscribers.

Ordergroove supports many of these solutions, including save subscriptions, bundles, rotating clubs, prepaid, and memberships.