Commerce

OpenAI hires team behind AI recommendation startup Crossing Minds

Commerce /

Crossing Minds, a startup that provides AI recommendation systems to e-commerce businesses, said on Thursday that its team is joining OpenAI. The startup was backed by Index Ventures, Shopify, Plug and Play, and Radical Ventures, and had raised more than $13.5 million across multiple rounds, according to Crunchbase. Crossing Minds largely worked with e-commerce companies […]

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Julie Bornstein’s Daydream is releasing an AI-powered chatbot for fashion-related shopping

Commerce /

Nearly a year after raising a mega seed round of $50 million, ecommerce veteran Julie Bornstein’s startup Daydream is releasing its AI-powered chatbot for shopping with a focus on fashion. After testing the product with select users, the company is today releasing the chatbot to all users in a public beta. People can sign up

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Amazon to spend over $4B to expand Prime delivery to rural communities in the US

Commerce /

Amazon announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its Same-Day and Next-Day delivery services to over 4,000 small cities and towns across rural U.S. This expansion will bring its fast Prime delivery service to millions of customers in places such as Asbury, Iowa; Fort Seneca, Ohio; Lewes, Delaware; North Padre Island, Texas; and Sharptown, Maryland.

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After raising $38M, African e-commerce startup Sabi lays off 20%, pivots to traceable exports

Commerce /

African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off around 20% of its workforce (~50 employees) as it pivots from its original retail-focused platform to double down on a growing business in commodity exports. The layoffs, confirmed by the company on Thursday, are part of a broader restructuring aimed at aligning resources with what it describes

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Pinterest tests an AI feature that lets advertisers turn their catalogs into shoppable collages

Commerce /

Pinterest is experimenting with “auto-collages,” an AI feature that allows advertisers to quickly turn their product catalogs into shoppable collages, the company announced this week. The new feature is designed to make it easier for advertisers to reach customers while saving time and creative resources, Pinterest says. The company notes that collages are one of

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Grocery platform Misfits Market acquires The Rounds to further its mission of reducing food waste

Commerce /

Misfits Market, the online platform that delivers imperfect groceries to help minimize waste, announced the acquisition of household restocking service The Rounds on Friday. As a result of the deal, Misfits Market plans to take on over 250 items from The Rounds’ inventory. This allows the company to diversify into additional categories, such as household

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Google Play adds topic pages, audio previews, and new subscription tools for developers

Commerce /

Google is rolling out a series of upgrades to its Play Store to help Android app developers better market their software and services to consumers. Among the highlights are new tools for managing subscription apps, topic pages that let users explore a specific subject on the Play Store, a new feature that allows people to

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Google introduces Shop with AI Mode with price tracking, agentic checkout and virtual try-on

Commerce /

Google announced at Google IO 2025 that it is adding multiple AI-powered features for online shoppers, including a new visual panel in Google Search’s AI Mode, personalized price tracking notifications with agentic checkout, and virtual try-ons. The new shopping experience is rolling out in AI Mode, where shoppers can view product visuals and other AI-powered

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