VR-Metric, courtesy photo.

By LAURA LOREK
Reporter with Silicon Hills News

Ever try to buy a bike online or a pair of skis? It’s difficult to tell what size equipment will fit.

That’s the problem Bold Metrics is trying to solve with its proprietary software that relies on algorithms and data science to accurately provide body measurements that will assist retailers in providing customers with the right equipment.

The Austin-based company first applied its technology to the fashion industry as Fashion Metric. But on Tuesday, it announced plans to rebrand to Bold Metrics “the gold standard for predicting body measurements.”

Bold Metrics better reflects the new markets in which the company plans to apply its body measurement software. In addition to Fashion Metric, Bold Metrics will now have Sport Metric and VR-Metric.

“We’re excited about the change and about the ability to explore all of the applications for the technology we built.,” said Daina Burnes, the company’s cofounder and CEO.

The company, founded in 2013 and a graduate of the Techstars Austin class of 2014, has nine full time employees and 13 altogether. It also has a sales office in the San Francisco Bay area of California. It has raised $2.63 million since its inception.

Bold Metrics has one of the largest data warehouses of human body measurements. It plans to tap into the database to expand into the new areas of sporting equipment in which people need to buy a bike, skis or golf clubs online. For those purchases, they need accurate body measurements to find the best fit, Burnes said.

“The core of our technology is really in actively predicting someone’s body measurement,” Burnes said. “The initial market was in apparel. But we believe the applications for body measurement is much greater than just apparel.”

It is also seeing a demand for its software in the virtual reality industry by helping people to create authentic avatars. People are not going to shop on flat screens and mobile devices forever, said Morgan Linton, the company’s cofounder and CRO.

“Two or three years from now, people will put on VR goggles and try clothes on and look in the mirror,” Linton said.

Initially, Fashion Metric’s team created software that used machine learning and mathematical algorithms to make it possible for online shoppers to get fitted for custom clothing without the need for a measuring tape, a selfie, or a physical body scanner.

In 2015, Fashion Metric expanded its reach into the ready-to-wear space, and now powers some of the world’s largest retailers and brands behind-the-scenes in their white-labeled fitting solutions.

“We take the friction out of the buying process online,” Linton said. “It’s been an amazing journey and incredibly satisfying to see our technology become the gold standard for predicting the human body.”