Daydream, an AI fashion discovery website, secured a massive seed round by building a decentralized network of TikTok and Instagram creators before ever launching an official app or social page.
If you’ve seen a recent viral “shop the look” or “get the aesthetic” video, there’s a good chance Daydream’s AI was behind it.
Daydream was founded in 2023 by Julie Bornstein.
She is a fashion tech veteran and former Harvard student, while also being the former COO of Stitch Fix and founder of The Yes.
She built Daydream alongside a team of ex-leaders from Google, Netflix, and Moda Operandi.
Daydream aims to solve fashion’s messy discovery problem.
The platform uses AI to let users create shoppable collages, or “daydreams,” from visual prompts.
Instead of endless scrolling, users can describe a vibe, an aesthetic, or an occasion, and the AI curates a visual board with product links.
The company’s model isn’t a subscription or a direct-to-consumer app. Instead, it’s built around a commission-based affiliate program that empowers creators to build and share shoppable looks for their audiences.
The domain was registered in May 2023.
While the official site sees currently around 8,000 monthly visits according to Semrush estimates, the real action is happening off-platform.
Daydream has no official app on the App Store or Google Play yet. The entire experience is web-based, optimized for sharing via social media.
Their strategy gained major validation with a feature in Vogue Business and a massive $50 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Forerunner Ventures, announced in early 2024.
While the official @daydreamshopping TikTok account exists, it’s a ghost town.
The real growth engine is a distributed network of dozens of creator and affiliate accounts.
These accounts are run by ambassadors who use Daydream to create content.
Each creator typically uses a handle format like “shopwith[name]” or focuses on a specific fashion niche.
The platform’s watermark and the creators’ bio links are the primary funnels for new user acquisition.
Let’s have a closer look at the content driving this growth.
The creator playbook
The creator strategy relies on a few highly effective, repeatable video formats.
One of them is faceless celebrity outfit comparison slideshows.
This is the most common and viral format.
Creators like @luxestyledaily (over 15M views) and @fashion.tips.101 (over 6M views) went viral solely by using this strategy.
And ALL these videos are from August and September 2025.
They are the main reason for their recent growth.
UGC creators haven’t reached virality yet.
They are trying to leverage celebrity style hooks to drive engagement.
2 videos from @shopwithgrace7 with the hook “you know how the KARDASHIANS(…)” reached popularity.
The format is simple:
Short bathroom selfie video of her getting ready, with a long centered hook.
Daydream has reached a total of 23.8 Million views across 22 accounts so far.
But the future seems promising.
They already found faceless virality, if they manage to find winning formats and hooks for their UGC’s the platform will take off.
An investment in growing official pages could also be a winning strategy.
You can check out all their accounts on Shortimize:
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