Tech startup Corvera has raised £1.5m as it rolls out an AI platform designed to fully automate supply chains and operations for fmcg businesses in the UK and US.
Its AI offering, which it claims is a UK first for the industry, helps brands cut waste, improve margins and maximise revenue by managing orders, inventory, forecasting, logistics and financial visibility.
Corvera’s aim is to reduce manual work for teams at challenger brands so they can focus on growth, according to the founders behind the technology.
Chris Kong, the former CEO and co-founder of tempeh brand Better Nature, teamed up with Dirk Breeuwer, a former data, analytics and AI lead at Google, and Matthew Collins, a Princeton University computer science graduate and former head of product at tech company Rosemark, to launch Corvera.
The £1.5m raise was led by global tech leaders and innovators, including pre-seed tech investor Firstminute Capital, tech accelerator programme Y Combinator, and angel investors Dom Maskell and Alex Bouaziz, who both have experience in scaling fast-growth tech businesses.
“What we’re doing is a first in the UK right now,” Kong said. “We’re building a hands-free command centre which manages supply chains for fast-growing retail brands.
“Having spent seven years working in the UK fmcg industry alongside scaling challenger brands, and following extensive research, we found many founders are losing hours and energy to repetitive, low-leverage operational tasks.
“At Corvera, we want to change that. With backing from Y Combinator and some of the biggest global tech leaders, we have a genuine opportunity to transform the fmcg business landscape with a new system for supply chain and operations, and we’re committed to leading the way.”
Breeuwer added: “Leading on Google’s marketing AI programme showed me the transformative impact that technology can have on business operations.
“AI isn’t just about efficiency, it’s a foundational shift in how decisions are made, teams operate, and brands scale.
“At Corvera, we’re harnessing that shift to create intelligent systems designed specifically for fmcg, giving founders clarity, confidence and control in an increasingly complex landscape.”
Corvera is currently working at the Y Combinator accelerator in San Francisco after beating 30,000 global tech startups to win a place on the programme.
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