Manufacturing platform Key chain It announced an $18 million seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners this morning.
Keychain seeks to use artificial intelligence to help brands find manufacturing partners. It was founded by Jordan Weitz, along with Umang Dua and Oisin Hanrahan, who previously co-founded and ran home software company Angi together.
The group decided it was time to take on a new challenge and set their sights on creating a new company: Keychain. Finding the right manufacturing partner is a big problem for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, Hanrahan said. They want to create great products like health foods and high-quality cosmetics, “but the process of finding the best manufacturing partner often gets in their way,” he told TechCrunch.
“If we can take this process from months to days, we believe we can unleash innovation in product development for this entire industry. This, in turn, will result in healthier, more affordable products on our store shelves. Right now, the consumer packaged goods industry is largely operating Offline and dominated by trade shows and vetting through intermediaries.Keychain aims to have a marketplace at its core to match “over 10,000 manufacturers on one end with brands and retailers on the other,” Hanrahan said.
The product is invite-only but plans to open to select retailers and brands next year.
Hanrahan said he and his co-founders are “really fortunate” to raise such a seed round in today’s more conservative funding environment. They sold Angi in 2018, and being founders with a previous exit helped attract investor interest, he said. “The round was significantly oversubscribed.”
David Tisch, partner at BoxGroup, was an early investor in Angi and has also invested in Keychain. “There are few entrepreneurs I’ve seen who are as strategic and persistent as they are,” he told TechCrunch. “I’m excited to work with them again.” Afore Capital and SV Angel also participated in the round.
Next, the company wants to expand to help companies with the entire manufacturing process, including sourcing, qualification and compliance. But they have to get through the Q1 2024 launch first. “We are very focused on working with our partners and the first few manufacturers to bring this product to life.”