AI made that rug… and those earrings

An AI-generated email is cool, but what about something you could wear? Or walk on?

Generative AI marketplace Arcade is making those projects a reality. Launched in 2024, the company just closed a $25m Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $42m.

• Customers — or “dreamers,” as the company calls them — can use text and image prompts to create custom jewelry designs.  
• The designs, which are paired with a real jewelry maker, can be tweaked and refined before being ordered in a customer’s material of choice.  
• In three months, Arcade dreamers and makers created 650k jewelry designs on the platform.

Now, the company is expanding into home goods, offering custom-made, handwoven rugs designed by artisans in several countries.

What a concept

Arcade isn’t the only company using AI to turn ideas into tangible products.

Off/Script’s community-powered platform lets users fund each other’s ideas, from purses and T-shirts to vases and puffer jackets.

• Creators can publish their product concepts to the app, with optional design assistance from an AI studio powered by Stable Diffusion.
• Once a concept is published, it needs to get 100 likes before it’s assigned a price and minimum order quantity.
• The product then has 30 days to generate enough orders for Off/Script to start production and ship items directly to customers. The company rakes a 30% cut on all sales. 

Using AI to visualize products…

… could speed up the initial design process and lets companies gather more detailed consumer feedback before having a physical prototype.

• In product research and design, generative AI could unlock $60B in productivity, according to McKinsey.
• When used properly, it could reduce product development time by up to 70%.

Bigger brands have already taken note: General Motors used AI models to generate 100+ seatbelt bracket design alternatives, one of which was 40% lighter and 20% stronger than the original.

While AI can give product designers a powerful assist, it’s not taking over just yet. We’d like our handloomed rug woven by actual hands, please.