Returning for its 12th year, organizers of the New York Fashion Tech Lab, or NYFTLab, said the program is continuing its mission to accelerate women-led B2B technology start-ups transforming the fashion and retail industry by naming 2025’s six cohort members.
Brand partners this year include AEO Inc., Gap Inc., J.Crew Group, Lululemon, Saks Global, The TJX Companies Inc. and Tapestry.
The NYFTLab 2025 companies and executives are:
- Tash Grossman, chief executive officer and founder of Slip, a digital receipt platform for personalized, omnichannel post-purchase experiences
- Disney Petit, CEO and founder of LiquiDonate, a donation matching for unsellable returns and overstock inventory to reduce logistics inefficiencies and gain reporting insights while giving back
- Stephanie Horbaczewski, CEO and founder of Vody, a multimodal large language models solution that is designed to enrich inventory data with consumer-friendly language
- Heidi Van Dyck, CEO and founder of Athena Studio, which offers real-time visibility into product development progress across platforms and teams
- Karen Moon, chief commercial officer and chief operating officer of Spangle AI & Yufeng Gou, head of engineering at AI platform Spangle AI, which helps capture more revenue with self-optimizing shopping experiences
- Sofia Lemes, chief revenue officer and cofounder at KSI Vision, which offers in-store retail analytics using existing security camera systems with AI and computer vision
The six women are participating from London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, New York, San Francisco and Uruguay.
Last month, executives from the partner companies convened at the SAP Experience Center in New York City, to see the selected finalists present. Afterward, the six companies were chosen to take part in a 12-week program that runs from mid-March to mid-June.
Jackie Trebilcock, managing director at the NYFTLab, said each year, “the selected companies reflect the industry’s most pressing priorities, and 2025 is no different. This year’s cohort is tackling key areas such as circular economy, product development, personalization, customer journey, in-store analytics and post-purchase solutions.”
“These innovations are more than just trends; they represent real, practical applications that drive efficiency, deepen consumer engagement and enhance loyalty, all while addressing sustainability for our future,” Trebilcock added.
Tapestry said in a statement that it is proud to support the NYFTLab “in fostering innovation at the intersection of fashion, retail and technology. Our partnership with [the NYFTLab] underscores our commitment to driving the future of the industry through collaboration and cutting-edge technology.”
The program culminates on June 17 at the annual NYFTLab Cohort Showcase/Demo Day event, which will take place at HSBC at The Spiral at Hudson Yards.
NYFTLab describes itself as a “community-driven, relationship-building, collaboration and business development platform” and noted that the non-profit program “was cofounded by Springboard Enterprises and key fashion retailers to support women-led companies that have developed innovations at the intersection of fashion, retail and technology.”
link