Intelo.ai, a New York–based technology company building the future of retail through its Collaborative Intelligence platform, announced the close of a $2 million financing round led by Illuminate Ventures. The funding will accelerate Intelo.ai’s mission to redefine merchandising and planning through specialized AI agents that work alongside retail professionals.
The company is pioneering a new model of Agentic AI designed to augment, not replace, the human expertise of merchants, planners, and buyers. Its AI agents are built to analyze vast data streams, identify actionable insights, and automate complex decision-making processes—enabling retail teams to focus on strategy, creativity, and customer experience. The capital infusion will be used to expand Intelo.ai’s engineering and product teams while advancing its go-to-market efforts.
Unlike traditional analytics dashboards that provide static insights, Intelo.ai’s platform enables dynamic collaboration between human decision-makers and AI systems. This Collaborative Intelligence approach enables retail teams to respond quickly to changing consumer demand, enhance inventory accuracy, and optimize assortments for both profitability and sustainability.
Illuminate Ventures’ investment highlights the growing recognition of Intelo.ai’s potential to solve long-standing inefficiencies in retail. With its unique blend of human expertise and advanced AI reasoning, Intelo.ai is positioning itself as a category-defining platform that bridges the gap between planning tools and intelligent automation.
The company’s leadership team—comprised of co-CEOs Roopesh Nair and Jeff Fish—brings deep experience in both retail and enterprise technology. Together, they aim to empower retail professionals to transform their workflows, turning data complexity into strategic advantage.
KEY QUOTES:
“Intelo was born from a deep respect for the art and science of retail. I’ve seen firsthand how pivotal merchants, planners, and buyers are, and our passion is to build the technology they truly deserve. Our vision for Agentic AI is to elevate these roles, transforming them from data analysts into strategic visionaries. We’re giving every retail leader a powerful AI partner to handle the ‘how,’ so they can reclaim their time to focus on the ‘what’.”
Roopesh Nair, Co-CEO, Intelo.ai
“Retail merchandising and planning have been underserved by true innovation for too long. We are grateful for the confidence that Illuminate Ventures and our investors have placed in us to change that. This partnership validates our vision for a future where human expertise is amplified by powerful AI agents, working in concert to make smarter, faster, and more profitable decisions. This funding allows us to accelerate our mission to move Intelo.ai forward and deliver a new era of collaborative intelligence to the retail industry.”
Jeff Fish, Co-CEO, Intelo.ai
“Intelo represents exactly the kind of further along company Illuminate looks for; experienced founders with deep domain expertise, solving a problem that offers near instant ROI. Their deep expertise in both retail and technology gives them a unique insight into the industry’s pain points. The concept of AI agents that collaborate with planners and merchandisers is a game-changer. Intelo.ai is not just building another analytics tool; they are creating a true system of intelligence that will transform core retail operations. We are thrilled to partner with them to help build a category-defining company.”
Cindy Padnos, Managing Partner, Illuminate Ventures
