Dalet Labs raises $7 million pre-seed as Lightspeed backs AI shopping app launch

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Dalet labs $7M AI app launch

Highlights

Dalet Labs raised a $7 million pre-seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with SV Angel and angels also participating ahead of its 2025 product roadmap.
The company launched Scene, an invite-only AI shopping app on the U.S. Apple App Store, positioning it as a shoppable virtual mall with real brand products.
Dalet Labs monetizes via affiliate marketing, features hundreds of brands, and plans user acquisition through influencers, social media, and a holiday coupon campaign.

Funding and product rollout strategy

As first reported by Business Insider, Dalet Labs says it has raised a $7 million pre-seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and is launching its first product, a shopping app called Scene.

The New York-based company was founded in 2025 by Omer Bar-Tal after his departure from AI video startup Runway. The pre-seed round was raised in late 2025, before the company finalized its product roadmap, with SV Angel and individual angel investors also participating. Lisa Han, a partner at Lightspeed who led the round, says Bar-Tal combines video AI research expertise with a strong understanding of consumer preferences.

Scene becomes available on the Apple App Store in the U.S. on Wednesday as an invite-only launch and is not yet available on Android. Users scroll through a feed of shoppable AI-generated images, while the featured products come from real brands. Bar-Tal positions the app as a virtual mall for consumers who want inspiration before deciding what to buy, distinguishing it from entertainment-led feeds on platforms such as TikTok or Pinterest.

Competitive pressures in AI commerce

Dalet Labs is entering a crowded market where major platforms and startups are also trying to reshape online shopping through AI and visual discovery. Rivals include TikTok Shop in the U.S., Pinterest's visual search tools, and startups such as Doji and Alta that promote AI-based apparel try-on experiences.

As users interact with products in Scene, the app adapts its feed to their interests and generates new scenes showing people wearing or using those items. Bar-Tal says the company does not view the product as a replacement for influencers, but as complementary, even though it still competes with influencer-driven affiliate sales models by trying to direct purchases through branded content.

Dalet Labs is monetizing early through affiliate marketing and says it has a catalog of hundreds of brands and retailers, while continuing to build partnerships. To drive downloads, the company plans to rely on influencers, social media promotion, and a holiday coupon campaign for new users, while using its pre-seed funding to hire more engineers and researchers.

In our earlier article on the Q3 2026 surge in cybersecurity and privacy startup funding, we highlighted that total investment rose to $6.8 billion mainly because late-stage rounds got larger even as the number of deals fell. We also noted investors’ growing focus on AI-oriented and identity security companies, alongside increased M&A activity that underscored ongoing consolidation across the sector.

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