Ecommerce customer data firm Distil.ai raises £1.1m

Distil.ai has secured £1.1m in a seed funding round for its platform that pulls in customer behaviour data for ecommerce businesses and segments it using artificial intelligence.

The Exeter-based company said it will use the cash infusion to expand its sales and marketing team.

Distil was founded in 2018 by data scientist Gerry McNicol, who is also the CEO.

The company says its platform can bring together customer information from multiple data sources – such as Salesforce, Facebook or Shopify – into one place to show trends, patterns and behaviours.

Insights can be at an individual customer level or broken down into broader segments, such as those interested in food and beverages.

Distil’s customers include AQL, Flavourly and Mancave. Crowdcube, which invested in Distil at launch, is also a customer.

Distil added that it plans to launch apps for other online marketplaces as it has done for ecommerce giant Shopify.

The equity round was led by Mercia Ventures, which previously backed Distil in 2021 with a £400,00 investment. The company also attracted capital from angel investors. It brings Distil’s total funding to £2m.

“This funding will give the company additional resources to further enhance its product, ramp up sales and reach a wider audience,” said Rafael Joseph, investment manager at Mercia.

The Devon tech company’s platform also provides recommendations to customers, such as discount and promotions strategies.

“At Distil, we are passionate about the power of data. It is the lifeblood of any business, shaping the landscape of industries around us,” said McNicol.

“However, to truly harness its potential and transform it into a strategic asset, the way we approach and manage data must evolve. This is the driving force behind Distil.ai.”