AI powered consumer research platform Knit nabs $16.1m Series A co-led by Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures

Knit, whose AI powered consumer research platform is used by brands like NASCAR, Amazon, Mars Wrigley, and Overtime, has raised $16.1 million in Series A funding. This was led by GFT Ventures and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures with continued participation from Silicon Road Ventures, Osage Ventures, Rise of the Rest, and others.

Notable angel investors such as David Kirk, former Chief Scientist at NVIDIA, and Gokul Rajaram, founding partner of Marathon Management, also took part.

“Today’s enterprise researchers are being asked to do more with less,” says Aneesh Dhawan, Co-Founder and CEO at Knit. “Knit empowers them to deliver fast, cost efficient insights without sacrificing quality or control. This funding accelerates our vision for a human + AI platform that makes research accessible, contextual, and decision ready.”

“Enterprise research is a massive market that’s ripe for AI disruption,” says Jeff Herbst, Founding Managing Partner at GFT Ventures. “Knit has built technology that truly meets the needs of modern research teams. Their traction with some of the world’s largest and most forward thinking brands, standout team, and clear vision for where this market is headed position them to lead the new era of enterprise insights.”

“Knit’s growth reflects its ability to redefine how brands understand their customers by combining the rigor of traditional research with the speed of AI,” says Alexandra Burbey, Investor at Sound Ventures. “As AI becomes embedded in every workflow, Knit stands out by keeping human insight at the center.”

The capital will be used to accelerate product development, including new AI powered features, and expand research use cases based on market needs. Knit will also scale its go to market and research teams to support its enterprise customer base and expand its international research capabilities. 

“We’ve always wanted to scale our research efforts, but doing that without losing control over quality or consistency felt impossible, until we started working with Knit,” says Brooks Deaton, VP, Data & Insights at NASCAR. “Now, we can run more studies, explore more ideas, and support more teams across the organisation, all without adding headcount. Knit gives us the flexibility to move fast while staying grounded in rigour.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.