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In focus
- When agentic AI plays fashion designer in the real world
- GPT-5 launch falls flat on expectations
- Ninja Van halves its valuation to raise next round
Hello reader,
My sister used to have this toy when she was a kid that let girls “design” clothes. It was nothing more than a bunch of plastic plates, each embossed with raised outlines of a model’s clothing, hairstyle, and accessories.
Girls could swap the plates out to create their own designs, then create an etching by placing a piece of paper over the plates and rubbing some charcoal over them.
I say “girls” because this was the 1980s. The boys’ version of the toy involved space aliens.
Of course, the process of designing real clothes is more complex, but not as much as you might think.
Designers are now using AI to scrape data from ecommerce sites, product reviews, and social media influencers to create new products. These frankensteined products are driving mass production by major retailers.
How can the small guy – or gal – compete? In our Big Story today, we look at Sourcy, a company that is looking to democratize the design process with its AI agents.
Speaking of agents, do you know which model you’re running on ChatGPT? Despite the recent launch, it might not be GPT-5, which was being hyped as the latest and greatest tool for developing agents. We’ll take a look at an issue that has some people angry.
Scott Shuey, senior tech journalist
The Big Story
Sourcy’s AI gives small brands a shot at Shein scale
Image credit: Made by Tech in Asia with the help of AI
Designing a new line of clothes used to take months, as retailers researched new ideas, tried to spot trends, and then worked with manufacturers on materials and production.
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