Thread's locker is empty; it's been picked up by UK clothing giant M&S

Thread, a UK-based AI fashion recommendation portal, just shut down its web presence announcing the assets have been acquired by the clothing and department store giant M&S for an undisclosed sum.

The startup sought to combine knowledge from human stylists with AI to recommend clothes to match the customer's body and style, with the clothes sourced from various e-commerce fashion brands, including M&S.

In a blog post, Thread co-founders Kieran O'Neill and Ben Phillips wrote: "Ben and I started Thread 10 years ago with the goal of making it easier for men and women to dress well. 

"To achieve this we pioneered how to combine cutting-edge AI with expert stylists, to give each person the perfect set of recommendations.

One of our biggest partners along the way was M&S, who shared our vision for democratising style. To help bring this to their much larger audience, they have acquired Thread's brand, technology and data.

This news is bittersweet, as unfortunately we will be stopping trading independently. We are going to miss working with you all. Thank you for all of the support you have shown us over the years by shopping with us."

Thread raised $22 million of series B funding in a 2018 round that included another high street fashion giant - H&M's CO:LAB - as well as Balderton Capital, Beringea, Forward Partners and angel investors Maurice Helfgott and Sebastian Picardo.

The startup largely focused on menswear though it later added a women's tailoring service. Now in M&S hands, let's wait and see where its AI pops up next.