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Elevation Capital-backed fashion tech startup Alle has wound up operations after struggling to build a sustainable business, becoming the first startup to publicly announce a shutdown in 2026.
The decision to close the company was taken in October last year, according to a LinkedIn post shared on Monday by co-founder Prateek Agarwal. Despite working on the idea for over two years and making several strategic changes, the team concluded that continuing further was not viable.
"Over the 2.5 years we spent building Alle, we pivoted six times, each time believing we were getting closer to a large enough opportunity. Eventually, we had to accept that the opportunity cost of everyone's time outweighed another uncertain pivot," Agarwal said.
Founded in 2023 by former Meesho executives Agarwal, Harshit Madan and Pavan Patil, Alle positioned itself as an AI-powered personal stylist. The startup offered a chat-based interface that helped users explore clothing options and receive recommendations based on their size, preferences and past shopping behaviour.
According to information on its website, Alle enabled users to browse styling suggestions from more than 1,000 fashion brands, including Myntra, H&M, Newme and Cider. The service operated in a competitive segment, with established ecommerce players such as Myntra also offering AI-driven sizing and fit tools.
In December 2023, the company raised USD 3 million in seed funding from Elevation Capital, Bharat Founders Fund and The Singhal Children. Agarwal did not clarify whether any funds were returned following the shutdown.
Highlighting the team's efforts, Agarwal noted, "We're among the few teams in India to have shipped an AI-first consumer product used by a few millions." He added that the learnings from building Alle would remain relevant in the future, even as the startup's journey comes to an end.
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