Klevu

Klevu Oy operates a sophisticated discovery platform for e-commerce, utilizing artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP) to enhance the online shopping experience. Founded in Helsinki, Finland, in 2013 by Nilay Oza, Niraj Aswani, and Jyrki Kontio, the company was established to address the prevalent issue of poor on-site search functionality on e-commerce websites. The founders brought together complementary expertise; Oza was a senior research scientist, Kontio was a university professor with a long tenure at Nokia, and Aswani was a serial entrepreneur, all with deep knowledge in computational linguistics, computer science, and software business.

The firm's core offering is a product discovery suite that includes smart search, smart category merchandising, product recommendations, and personalization. This technology is designed to interpret natural language queries and learn from shopper behavior to deliver more relevant results, moving beyond simple keyword matching. The platform helps online retailers increase sales, conversions, and customer loyalty by ensuring shoppers can find what they are looking for, regardless of query complexity or device. Klevu serves a global client base of over 3,000 online stores, ranging from small and mid-size businesses to large enterprises like Puma, Yamaha, and Topps Tiles.

Klevu's business model is subscription-based, with tiered pricing that depends on factors like website traffic, product catalog size, and the specific modules selected. While specific pricing is provided through custom quotes, plans for small to mid-sized businesses reportedly start around $499 per month and increase for enterprise-level implementations. The company has secured total funding of approximately $17.9 million over several rounds, with a significant $12 million Series A round in late 2020 led by Alfvén & Didrikson. In early 2025, a major milestone was reached when Klevu joined forces with Searchspring, a portfolio company of PSG, to form Athos Commerce, a comprehensive global platform for e-commerce optimization.

Keywords: e-commerce search, product discovery, natural language processing, AI-powered retail, conversion rate optimization, personalization engine, site search, category merchandising, product recommendations, Athos Commerce