Firmly, a Seattle-based commerce technology company helping retailers sell through AI shopping assistants, has raised $15 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Squarepoint Capital, with participation from J.P. Morgan Payments, Mastercard, Samsung NEXT, and other investors.
The funding brings Firmly’s total capital raised to approximately $20 million. The company plans to use the investment to expand its merchant network and connect its platform with more AI agents, marketplaces, social networks, and shoppable advertising channels.
Firmly Connects Retailers with AI Shopping Assistants
Firmly allows retailers to sell products directly through its technology. Its platform offers real-time product pricing, inventory status, and payment processing, enabling customers to make purchases using the technology without leaving staff.
Using Firmly Connect, merchants can select from various products and platforms while retaining access to their own payment providers, customer connections, transaction data and records.
Firmly connects shopping services to retailers with their explicit permission. Its software integrates with the systems behind a retailer’s storefront instead of relying on browser agents to navigate websites and complete checkout.
The platform enables commerce channels to access more than 11 million merchants representing over $900 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV).
Firmly’s Revenue Model and Merchant Integration
Firmly charges merchants between $2,000 and $15,000 per month, depending on the total value of merchandise they sell, CEO Kumar Senthil told Axios Pro.
The company has also reduced the time required to connect a merchant. Senthil said integrations that took four to six weeks in 2024 fell to around one week in 2025 and now take a day or less, including testing.
The company aims to make it easier for retailers to participate in AI-powered commerce without having to manage different technical protocols themselves.
Mastercard Partnership Supports Merchant Growth
Mastercard is both an investor and a commercial partner. It uses Firmly’s merchant catalog and cart capabilities in its Agent Connect offering.
According to Senthil, Mastercard is recruiting merchants for the service, creating a channel for Firmly to reach additional customers.
J.P. Morgan Payments and Mastercard participated in the funding round alongside Squarepoint Capital, Samsung NEXT, Alumni Ventures, ARK Invest, Benhamou Global Ventures, Granada Funds, Hike Ventures, The Mercantile Companies, and Versus Ventures.
Firmly Launches Ask Agent Shopping Assistant
Firmly has also introduced Ask Agent, a conversational shopping experience for retailers’ websites.
The tool allows customers to describe what they are looking for in natural language, receive AI-powered product recommendations, and complete checkout within the conversation. It also supports real-time catalog integration and post-purchase customer support.
Firmly plans to use its new funding to expand its platform and merchant connections as retailers explore AI-powered shopping channels.
About Firmly
Firmly was co-founded by CEO Kumar Senthil, President Damien Balsan, and CTO Murali Krishnamurthy. The company provides no-code commerce infrastructure that connects retailers with digital shopping channels while allowing merchants to maintain control of their customer relationships and transactions.
Senthil previously led e-commerce product development at Samsung. Balsan was also a co-founder of LoopPay, which was acquired by Samsung.
