Story of Fermat: AI-Powered E-Commerce Platform That Personalizes Online Shopping
Story of Fermat:
The Spark Behind Fermat
The idea for Fermat was born in 2020, when Apple announced its App Tracking
Transparency (ATT) rules. These changes limited how businesses could track
consumer activity across the internet, disrupting the entire digital
advertising industry. Rishabh Jain, then at LiveRamp, had a front-row seat to
the shift and realized a massive transformation was underway.
From LiveRamp to a New Venture
At LiveRamp, Jain had worked on infrastructure that enabled brands to track
users across websites, apps, and even in-store transactions. It gave him an
inside look at how consumer data shaped engaging experiences online. But with
ATT, that world changed overnight. Tracking was no longer reliable, and Jain
saw both a challenge and an opportunity.
The Birth of Fermat
By late 2021, Jain co-founded Fermat in San Francisco to address this new
reality. His vision was to build infrastructure and tools that would let brands
deliver highly engaging, personalized shopping experiences without relying on
invasive tracking. The company positioned itself as an “AI-native commerce
platform” that could tailor shopping journeys for every consumer.
Backing and Early Growth
Fermat quickly gained attention from top investors, raising $29 million in
Series A funding. The round included Bain Capital Ventures, Greylock
Partners, and Courtside Ventures. This support gave the company the capital and
network it needed to refine its platform and bring it to market at scale.
A Shifting E-commerce Landscape
The timing was critical. By 2022, e-commerce businesses were reeling from the
impact of ATT. Companies that had once been profitable saw their margins
collapse. Even giants like Facebook and Shopify lost significant market value.
Jain had anticipated the direction of the shift, but the speed and scale of the
disruption surprised even him.
Why the Consumer Journey Matters More
In this new world, finding the right customer became harder. Instead of relying
on hyper-targeted ads, brands needed to focus on crafting exceptional consumer
journeys. Fermat’s tools enabled companies to build seamless, personalized, and
closed-loop shopping experiences—where every touchpoint was connected to the
final purchase.
Closed-Loop Experiences Take Center Stage
One of Jain’s core insights was that transactions needed to be tied directly to
consumer intent. This shift explains why platforms like Facebook and TikTok
launched their own in-app shops and even partnered with Amazon to allow
purchases directly inside their platforms. Fermat, meanwhile, gave brands the
ability to own these journeys themselves.
Riding the Retail Media Wave
The rise of retail media networks reinforced Fermat’s importance. Companies
like Instacart and Uber started generating significant revenue from retail
media, proving that consumer attention and commerce were converging. Fermat
entered this ecosystem as a solution for brands that wanted full control over
how their consumers experienced shopping across multiple channels.
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Personalization at Scale
What set Fermat apart was its ability to dynamically tailor shopping
experiences for each consumer. A product page could look different depending on
whether a visitor arrived through an email campaign, a Google search, or a
TikTok ad. This kind of personalization was previously too time-consuming for
brands to manage—but Fermat automated it.
A Success Story: Mind Body Green
One of Fermat’s standout customer stories came from health and wellness brand
Mind Body Green. In a single morning, the company created 60 unique stores
through Fermat’s platform. They weren’t just running ads; they were designing
entire customer journeys tied to business outcomes like SKU selection, repeat
purchases, and tailored offers.
Redefining Acquisition and Retention
Through Fermat, brands like Mind Body Green shifted their thinking. Instead of
viewing customer acquisition as a one-off ad click, they started seeing it as a
full-funnel process. They used data from Fermat’s system not only to acquire
customers more effectively but also to guide long-term growth strategies around
product offerings and retention.
Boardroom Wins and Rapid Expansion
By 2023 and 2024, Fermat had become one of the fastest-growing companies in the
commerce infrastructure space. Investors noted that quarter after quarter,
Fermat outperformed expectations. This growth was fueled not just by strong
execution but also by the undeniable market need for solutions in a
post-tracking world.
The AI-First Commerce Platform
Fermat describes itself as the AI-native commerce layer that enables brands to
“tailor every touchpoint.” By leveraging advanced machine learning, it
automates what used to be manual: designing, managing, and measuring
personalized consumer journeys across multiple channels.
Looking Ahead
Today, Fermat sits at the intersection of AI, commerce, and consumer
engagement. As the internet continues to evolve, the company is positioned to
help brands adapt by giving them the infrastructure they need to thrive in a
cookieless, highly personalized digital environment. Jain’s bet on distributed,
AI-driven commerce has proven not only correct but essential.
Timeline of Fermat
- 2020
– Rishabh Jain begins exploring the impact of Apple’s ATT changes while at
LiveRamp.
- Late
2021 – Fermat is founded in San Francisco by Jain to reimagine
commerce in a post-tracking era.
- 2022
– ATT disrupts e-commerce; businesses face sharp declines in
profitability, validating Fermat’s mission.
- 2022–2023
– Fermat raises $29M Series A from Bain Capital Ventures, Greylock,
and Courtside Ventures.
- 2023
– Customer success stories, including Mind Body Green, showcase Fermat’s
ability to drive personalized shopping journeys.
- 2024
– Fermat scales rapidly, exceeding growth expectations and becoming a key
player in AI-powered commerce infrastructure.
- 2025
and beyond – Continues expanding as an AI-first commerce platform
helping brands own and optimize consumer journeys.
