In January 2026, the AI-native operations platform Corvera (YC W26) announced the closing of a £1.5 million (approx. $2M) Seed funding round. The investment was led by Firstminute Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and strategic angels from the retail and FMCG sectors.
The company is led by Co-Founder and CEO Christopher Kong—a former CEO of Better Nature—alongside CTO Dirk Breeuwer and CPO Matthew Collins. Corvera is building an “AI Workforce” designed to handle the high-volume, repetitive operations of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies, automating workflows that traditionally require thousands of manual hours.
The CPG sector currently suffers from operational “leakage” caused by manual sales order processing and inaccurate demand forecasting. Corvera addresses this by deploying specialized AI agents that process orders end-to-end and manage inventory in real-time. This move toward autonomous commerce mirrors the transition seen in warehouse automation, where AI replaces manual triage with systemic logic.
The new capital will be used to expand its engineering team and scale its “hands-free” operating system across UK and North American retail brands. By enforcing high-fidelity logic over supply chain data, Corvera provides a level of structural reliability similar to AI-powered fresh food logistics, ensuring that brands can scale without increasing operational headcount.
Market Signal
- The “Founder-as-User” Alpha: Christopher Kong’s experience scaling a retail brand into a European leader provides Corvera with a “System-Sufferer” pedigree. This deep domain authority is why Firstminute Capital led the round, betting on a team that understands the nuanced friction of CPG wholesale and logistics.
- The End of Manual Order Processing: Corvera is effectively turning manual operations into programmable code. By automating the core workflows of sales and inventory, the platform allows brands to increase margins by up to 40%, shifting the supply chain from a cost center to a growth driver.
- Agentic CPG Autonomy: As retail brands face increasing pressure for speed and accuracy, “Agentic AI” is becoming the definitive competitive advantage. Corvera’s platform allows brands to operate 24/7 without human intervention, setting a new standard for the autonomous retail workforce in 2026.
Key Details
- Company: Corvera (YC W26)
- Funding: £1.5M (~$2M) Seed
- Headquarters: London, UK / San Francisco, CA
- Lead Investor: Firstminute Capital
- CEO: Christopher Kong
- Use Case: AI-powered CPG operations, autonomous sales order processing, and hands-free demand forecasting
