Basket, an AI-powered shopping assistant backed by BrewDog co-founder James Watt, is looking to crowdfund £2m to help roll out its platform “redefining online retail”.
Basket allows users to consolidate products from different online retailers into a single shopping cart, delivering real-time price drop alerts, stock updates and AI-powered recommendations.
It is used by retailers including Asda, Gymshark and Asos, and has acquired over 250k users since it was launched in 2023 by serial entrepreneur Lex Deak.
It recently introduced a conversational interface known as ‘agent commerce’ – allowing users to type in what they are looking for and leaving it to Basket to find the best product.
Amazon launched its own equivalent product last month, called ‘Buy for Me’. It allows shoppers to purchase products, even from third-party websites, directly through the Amazon app.
Basket has so far raised over £4.5m from investors including Watt, Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky, and the co-founder of digital payment provider World First.
The company’s revenue comes through commission on each sale. It earnt around $90k in the final quarter of last year, according to its crowdfunding page.
This latest round values the company at £17m, an internal valuation based on “user growth, high intent signals…and the launch of new monetisation streams like instant cashback”, according to Deak.
“Our performance metrics – including conversion rates, retention, and organic growth – are significantly outperforming typical consumer apps, and we believe that puts us on a path to strong commercial scalability.”
He added the crowdfund marked a “pivotal moment” as the business scaled its platform and deepened its AI capabilities. “Agentic commerce isn’t just coming – it’s already here.”
Watt said Basket was “one of the most exciting consumer businesses I’ve seen. The product is exceptional, the growth has been explosive, and the market potential is enormous.”
Deak previously appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2009 when he received investment for for his former business Family Fridge.
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