Calgary fashion technology startup Prevoir closed a $750,000 CAD pre-seed funding round on January 9 to scale its artificial intelligence platform that helps fashion retailers and merchandisers analyze trends, curate collections, and predict sales performance. Edmonton AI developer AltaML served as the sole investor in the round, building on a two-year working relationship the companies describe as a co-founding partnership.
Prevoir's platform uses AI and computer vision to extract product attributes from fashion inventory and connect them to sales and inventory data, providing actionable insights for collection curation and trend forecasting. Founded in 2023 by CEO Courtney Kos, the company addresses challenges fashion retailers face in manually analyzing product performance patterns and predicting which styles will resonate with consumers. The platform aims to reduce time spent on spreadsheet work while keeping creative decision-making in merchandisers' hands rather than fully automating the design process.
The funding will support bringing the platform to market at scale, expanding infrastructure capacity, developing additional product capabilities, and building customer support operations to handle growth. Kos emphasized the company has developed its minimum viable product that is "easily accessible and downloadable by our ideal customer profile" and aims to increase platform awareness and user acquisition. The decision to take funding exclusively from AltaML rather than pursuing multiple investors positions Prevoir for a potential late-2026 seed funding round.
Prevoir operates on a $250 USD monthly subscription model that provides access to its full suite of services including trend analysis, collection planning, and sales performance insights. The platform became available on the Shopify app store in December 2025, expanding distribution to Shopify's merchant ecosystem. This integration allows fashion brands operating on Shopify to access Prevoir's AI capabilities directly through their existing e-commerce infrastructure without separate platform management.
The company has been conducting validation testing with several fashion brands including New York-based Elie Tahari, which has partnered with Prevoir for approximately one year to test workflows, insights, and use cases. Kos stated Elie Tahari showed interest in the platform from conception as it aligned with their business goals, describing them as "a really wonderful partner" for product development feedback. These brand partnerships provide real-world data to refine the platform's recommendations and validate its commercial applicability across different fashion segments.
In addition to the pre-seed funding, Prevoir received $50,000 from Alberta Innovates specifically for product development of its flagship Range Builder planning feature. This tool uses AI to surface recommendations based on historical performance patterns and attribute-level insights while intentionally preserving creative decision-making authority with merchandisers. Public relations specialist Lindsey Fletcher explained the goal is "not to replace creativity, but to save teams significant time, reduce manual spreadsheet work, and bring structure to the planning process."
The Range Builder feature represents Prevoir's core value proposition—augmenting rather than replacing human expertise in fashion merchandising. The system analyzes past sales data to identify which product attributes performed well under specific conditions, then suggests items that match successful patterns while allowing merchandisers to make final curation decisions. This human-in-the-loop approach addresses fashion industry concerns about AI systems making creative decisions without understanding brand identity, seasonal positioning, or market timing nuances.
AltaML's role extends beyond capital provision to active partnership in platform development. Kos described AltaML as "acting like a co-founding company" rather than a traditional investor, suggesting deep technical collaboration on the AI and computer vision components powering Prevoir's analysis capabilities. AltaML specializes in developing AI solutions for enterprise clients and operates an internal AI lab for the Alberta government, bringing significant machine learning expertise to the partnership.
Calgary's emergence as a fashion technology hub reflects the city's broader diversification efforts beyond energy sector dominance. Prevoir joins other Calgary technology startups leveraging AI and data analytics for industry-specific applications, supported by organizations like Alberta Innovates that provide early-stage capital for product development. The company's validation partnerships with established brands like Elie Tahari demonstrate Calgary startups can build solutions attracting attention from major fashion markets including New York.
The fashion retail sector faces increasing pressure to optimize inventory decisions as e-commerce competition intensifies and consumer preferences shift more rapidly. Traditional merchandising relies heavily on buyer intuition and manual analysis of sales reports, creating opportunities for AI platforms that can process larger datasets and identify performance patterns humans might miss. Prevoir positions itself in this market gap by providing data-driven insights while respecting the creative expertise that differentiates fashion brands.
The late-2026 seed round timeline suggests Prevoir plans to demonstrate traction metrics including user growth, retention rates, and customer satisfaction before pursuing larger institutional investment. The company's focus on user acquisition throughout 2026 aims to build a customer base that validates product-market fit and justifies higher valuations in subsequent funding rounds. Success will depend on converting free trials or initial subscriptions into long-term paying customers who see measurable value from the platform's recommendations.
