Onton raises $7.5M to reinvent the way the world discovers and decides what to buy

Onton, an emerging AI-driven consumer decision platform, is taking aim at one of the internet’s biggest challenges: helping people make confident purchase decisions without endless research. The company announced it has secured $7.5 million in seed funding, led by Footwork with participation from Liquid 2, Parable Ventures, 43, and others-bringing its total funding to nearly $10 million. This new capital will fuel Onton’s product expansion, team growth, and global scaling as demand for reliable, intelligent shopping tools continues to rise.

Online shopping has become a complex and time-consuming task. Shoppers open many tabs. They sift through SEO-filled listings and read mixed reviews. It’s tough to tell real insights from ads. Onton was made to simplify the buying process. Now, the average purchase decision takes 79 days. It helps you make informed choices, just like consulting an expert. It feels as easy as getting advice from a friend.

Onton’s growth matches a larger industry trend. Traditional e-commerce platforms struggle with unstructured data and old search models. These often prioritize keywords and ads over true relevance. Onton fills these gaps with a new interface based on neurosymbolic AI. This AI learns with each user interaction. It boosts accuracy and helps users shift from discovery to decision in minutes, not months.

“We are building the future of decision making online,” said Zach Hudson, CEO and Co-Founder of Onton. “People deserve a way to shop that feels intelligent, transparent, and effortless. Onton is designed to remove the friction that slows everyone down and to give users absolute confidence in their choices.”

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Onton lets users search with natural language, images, or both. It gathers product info from the web into one listing, so users don’t need to jump between sources. With tools like Imagine and Surfaces, users can see their ideas clearly. They can also find shoppable options right away. Early results look good—Onton has conversion rates that are three times the average. Plus, over 20% of users are active each week.

The motivation behind Onton stems from real consumer frustration. Co-founder Alex once spent 30 hours searching for a mid-century gray couch with wood trim, only to find that everyone he spoke to had similar stories. Meanwhile, Zach had been developing Rcmmd and studying trust in product reviews. After meeting at a YC Startup School event, the two joined forces, built the early versions of Onton, won Pioneer, joined the fifth On Deck Fellowship, and began rapid scaling. By early 2025, the team had grown from four to ten members—supporting more than 1 million monthly active users—with plans to expand further.

Across the digital commerce landscape, expectations are shifting rapidly. The internet is increasingly flooded with unverified or autogenerated content, placing the burden of discernment on the consumer. Traditional recommendation sources are fading, brands are becoming closed ecosystems, and shoppers now expect AI-first interfaces that behave like intelligent assistants rather than static filters. These trends have intensified the need for accurate, transparent, and trustworthy product discovery tools.

Users frequently share how Onton transforms their shopping experience. One described how the platform helped him find products aligned with his hobbies without hours of research. Another explained that Onton validated the uniqueness of items she was considering, giving her the confidence to finalize a purchase. Power users conduct more than 100 searches and generations monthly, reflecting Onton’s ability to meaningfully shorten decision cycles.

Onton plans to expand beyond home décor and furniture. It will explore categories like electronics and apparel, where users show interest. The company aims to strengthen its knowledge graph and improve its data pipeline. It will also introduce a customizable search engine to match individual shopping preferences. Onton aims to be a global engine for decision-making. It wants to help with product choices across all categories and markets.