The New York Fashion Tech Lab (NYFTL) has named this year’s cohort of companies transforming the fashion industry and retail sector. The community-driven platform returns for its 12th year of accelerating the women-led startups developing innovations at the intersection of fashion and technology.
Cofounded by venture catalyst Springboard Enterprises, the nonprofit is designed for early-to-growth-stage innovators, backed by industry heavyweights. This year’s fashion and retail partners include AEO Inc., Gap Inc., J.Crew Group, Lululemon, Saks Global, The TJX Companies Inc. and Tapestry. Program partners include HSBC, Manatt and SAP.
Following the mid-February event at the SAP Experience Center, six finalists were chosen to participate in the nonprofit’s 12-week program from mid-March to mid-June. Athena Studios, KSI Vision, LiquiDonate, Slip, Spangle AI and Vody are the companies for NYFTL’s 2025 cohort. These six women—participating from London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, New York, San Francisco and Uruguay—will join the 80-plus global alums of the lab, which includes Hue, Jumper AI and Trendalytics, among others.
“Each year, the selected companies reflect the industry’s most pressing priorities; 2025 is no different,” Jackie Trebilcock, NYFTL’s managing director, said. “This year’s cohort is tackling key areas such as circular economy, product development, personalization, customer journey, in-store analytics and post-purchase solutions.”
Heidi Van Dyck’s Athena Studios offers real-time visibility into product development progress across platforms and teams, according to the NYFTL. In contrast, Stephanie Horbaczewski’s Vody offers multimodal large language model (LLMs) solutions designed to “enrich inventory data” with consumer-friendly language.
Disney Petit’s LiquiDonate provides donation matching for unsellable returns and overstock inventory to “reduce logistics inefficiencies and gain reporting insights while giving back.” Tash Grossman’s Slip offers a digital receipt platform for personalized and omnichannel post-purchase experiences.
Sofia Lemes’ KSI Vision offers in-store retail analytics using existing security camera systems with AI and computer vision. Karen Moon and Yufeng Gou’s Spangle AI helps capture more revenue with self-optimizing shopping experiences, and recently closed a $6 million seed funding round.
“These innovations are more than just trends,” Trebilcock said. “They represent real, practical applications that drive efficiency, deepen consumer engagement and enhance loyalty, all while addressing sustainability for our future.”
