Keychain raises €4.8m in funding from European retail giant

AI powered supply chain platform Keychain, cofounded by Irish entrepreneur Oisin Hanrahan, has raised $5 million (€4.8 million) in funding from European retailer Continente.

The strategic funding comes as the platform, which connects companies with manufacturing partners, positions itself to launch in Europe.

The latest backing was raised from Bright Pixel Capital, the venture capital arm of the Portuguese retailer’s parent company Sonae.

“We’re proud to invest in Keychain at such an exciting moment in their journey,” said Manuel Queiroz, director at Bright Pixel Capital. “Our team is confident in Keychain’s ability to modernise the global CPG supply chain and is exactly what the European consumer packaged goods supply chain needs.”

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This brings the total funding raised by Keychain to $38 million, with previous backers including BoxGroup, Lightspeed Venture Partners and SV Angel, alongside General Mills, the Hershey Company, and Schreiber Foods.

The platform puts brands, retailers and manufacturers in touch with manufacturing partners, cutting out brokers and making the process more efficient and cost-effective. Over 30,000 manufacturers have already signed up to Keychain, with more than 20,000 brands and retailers also on board.

The funding will allow Keychain to increase its investment in product and engineering, focusing on AI and how it can be used in product creation.

“AI will not just help people figure out where they can make things and who they can make them with, but AI will actually help you create the product,” Mr Hanrahan explained.

Keychain, which launched a year ago and is now valued at $250 million, now has more than $1 billion in projects posted per month, a milestone for the company.

“The core idea of search and discovery - how do brands and retailers find manufacturers - has really played out quite well, particularly for large US retailers and large US brands,” said Mr Hanrahan. " The volume of action there is pretty substantial, and the engagement level of the manufacturers is very real."

The company is also moving beyond manufacturing and into packaging and ingredients, allowing brands to source packaging materials and ingredient suppliers through the platform. Mr Hanrahan said around a quarter of the business going through Keychain is already in packaging, indicating the level of demand for the new services.

It also helps the company build a relationship with a key European retailer, paving the way for its future expansion.

Mr Hanrahan said no timeline for a European launch had been announced, but “we would expect that at some point in the future, we will launch in Europe”.

Headquartered in New York, Keychain has was cofounded by Mr Hanrahan and his Handy.com cofounder Umang Dua, alongside Jordan Weitz. The company also has offices in Austin and Delhi.