Keychain secures $18M to help you meet your manufacturing match

Today, Keychain, a manufacturing platform, proudly announced an $18M seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The investment round also saw participation from Afore Capital and SV Angel.

• Founder's Spotlight: Keychain, founded by Jordan Weitz and Handy's previous co-founders Umang Dua and Oisin Hanrahan, is about to change the manufacturing industry with the help of Artificial Intelligence.

• Background: The founders bring a wealth of experience to Keychain. Dua and Hanrahan, having successfully sold their home software company Handy to Angi, later rose to the positions of CRO and CEO at Angi respectively.

• Up Next for Keychain: Creating Keychain, a platform targeting the difficulties faced by Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies in finding the right manufacturing partners. Hanrahan stated, "If we can take that process from months down to days, we think we can unlock innovation in product development for this whole industry."

• CPG Status: The current CPG industry, operating in an outdated offline environment dominated by trade shows and broker vetting, is ripe for disruption. Keychain's goal is to create a marketplace that matches over 10,000 manufacturers with brands and retailers.

• Exclusivity: The platform is currently invite-only but aims to open to specific retailers and brands in the coming year. Despite a more conservative funding environment, Keychain managed to oversubscribe its investment round, largely due to the founders' previous successful exit with Handy.

Following their launch in Q1 2024, Keychain plans to assist businesses throughout the entire manufacturing process, including sourcing, onboarding, and compliance. As of now, their primary focus lies in working closely with their first partners and manufacturers to bring the product to life.