AI startup Onton is a new AI startup that aims to change the way people search for and decide on buying something online. They just raised a $7.5 million seed round, marking AI startup Onton raises 7.5 million and strengthening interest in Onton funding round activity across the sector. The lead investor of the round was Footwork, and the round also included Liquid 2, Parable Ventures, 43North, and several other investors. With this latest round, the startup has a total of almost $10 million in capital, driven by strong momentum around Onton seed funding as highlighted in recent tech investment news.
Onton states they have the ability to accomplish the following, and it being important.
The Problem: Shopping Is Too Hard Online
Online shopping is often more of a headache than a convenience. People browse many sites, compare conflicting reviews and struggle to separate marketing buzz from real quality. On average, a buyer takes 79 days before finally deciding to purchase something. This is why demand for an AI shopping platform and improved product search engine tools keeps rising, especially as ecommerce decision making becomes more complex.
Onton’s Approach: Smarter, Faster Search Through AI
Onton built a new search and discovery engine powered by a “neurosymbolic AI” system. This includes elements of neurosymbolic AI search and neurosymbolic AI for ecommerce search, helping users navigate choices more easily. That allows users to search using natural language or images, or both. Instead of jumping through multiple websites, Onton aggregates information from across the internet into a single unified product listing. That helps users move from browsing to deciding in minutes, showing how Onton improves online shopping decisions.
The engine works as an AI product discovery engine and an AI shopping decision tool, offering a more AI driven shopping experience than traditional methods. The platform also supports online shopping AI features that streamline product comparisons.
The platform already sees more than 2 million monthly users, a sign of growing trust in this new product search engine model. Onton reports that its conversion rate is three times higher than industry benchmarks. About 20 percent of its users are active weekly.
How Onton Started
The idea arose when the founders, frustrated by how hard it was to find decent products, decided to improve the buying process. Their first versions gained traction, they joined the fifth cohort of the On Deck Fellowship, and began scaling their product. In early 2025, with only four employees, they surpassed 1 million monthly users. The team has since grown to ten and plans to add more, powered by continued Onton seed funding interest and broader adoption of online shopping AI tools.
Where Onton Goes From Here
Onton is not merely planning to stop at home decor or furniture. The company plans to branch out into apparel, electronics and other retail categories depending on the demand, thereby indicating Onton expansion into global retail categories. Their ultimate aspiration is to create a customizable search engine which changes according to each user and thus can be considered as a global decision-making tool for any product, in any category, anywhere.
The new investment will allow Onton to enhance its product, increase its team strength and expand internationally, thus being a significant factor in the growing interest a lot of people have towards AI startup Onton, the ongoing Onton funding round and the future of AI shopping platform innovation.
