Get acquainted with the steady fashion launch backed by H&M and Amazon

When Gilbert Lurera spent the summer, working at a textile factory in a teens growing in Portugal, he found that he feels that “hatred and love” for how clothes were produced.

The work was tough: Lurera’s task was to spend long days, stand and watch the shortcomings in the cloth when it passed through cars at a speed of about 15 to 20 meters per minute.

“I really love the textile industry and problem solving, but I hate it … Inspectorate and ineffectiveness and waste. This is really one of the most difficult jobs in the world,” Lurera CNBC said through a video call.

Over the decade, as he started his first shift at the plant, Lurera’s thinking has changed. After obtaining a master’s degree in physics, he co -based Smartex, a technology company that uses cameras, vision software and artificial intelligence to detect textile defects during production and therefore reduce the fabric share. Loureiro claims that technology has prevented 1 million kilograms Fabrics from campaign to waste over the last three years.

Fashion has a big waste problem, approximately in a truck of clothing, thrown and buried or burned every second, according to Ellen Macrtur FoundationNonprofit organization. Smartex claims that its defect technology means 0.37% more clothing per kilogram of finished fabric, considering that the fashion giant Inditex (Zara owner) used 678.596 tons of raw materials in its products in 2024, on it Annual report.

In addition, fashion is an industry that is still fully perceived by digitalization, Lurera said, partly because it is considered difficult. Creating clothes is difficult because the supply chains can be long and fragmented: from growing and processing raw materials, such as cotton, to weaving and staining textiles, developing samples and sewing clothing. Meanwhile it moves fast and unpredictable Industry.

“If it is the largest industry that is still not touched by the Internet and is one of the largest pollutants in the world, and no one is working on it in technology (then), there is a large gap,” Lurera said. About 20% water pollution worldwide is caused by staining and finishing during textile production, According to the EU.

This lack of technology in the production of clothing and the potential for the industry are becoming more effective, made Smartex attractive to investors, Lurera said. Group H & M Invested in Smartex in 2022 Tony Fadel – Inventor iPod and the nest thermostat – brought a $ 24.7 million investments With Lightspeed Venture Partners in the same year. According to Lurera, Smartex has raised more than $ 40 million, but given the complexity and operations of the industry in several countries, he said investors are “brave” to support it. “There is a huge value for capture. So, it is a great risk, reward,” he added, given the size of the industry More than 1.8 trillion In 2025.

Smartex and its loud investors got into your eyes AmazonWhich also invested money in the company through its AWS Coutute for Climate FealowShip, an initiative that supports technology startups in areas such as food security, preservation and climate resistance. Lisbeth Kaufman, Head of Business Development Department on climatic technology, startups and venture capital in AWS, launched a scholarship in 2023, and four companies won the program.

“Climate technology startups, they have so much scientific research (research and development) that they need to do … perhaps even more than … standard technology companies, they need to invent new science or new technologies, as well as new businesses,” said CNBC through a video call. Scholarship companies are provided with access to AWS experts as well as advanced computing services, and 20 firms will be selected for participation this year with a total of $ 4 million. Smartex uses AWS technology to prepare machine learning models to detect fabric deficiencies that may vary significantly.

“If in 30 seconds it is not convinced of the profitability (return of investment) of payback, for example, in less than one year, you left the game … We need to prove to them that they will save in materials, yarn or electricity,” Lurera said. Most plant owners spend “several hundred thousand dollars” on Smartex. “We must make sure that savings are much higher than the cost,” Lurera said. The average payback period of investment in Smartex is between nine and 18 months, according to Institute of Impact Clothing.

Smartex’s goal is to become an “operating system” for factories in the entire fashion supply chain so that brands can track information, for example, where the clothes come from where they are in the production process and how much water is used to produce items. “These are the main questions that most fashion brands are very difficult or impossible to answer,” Lurera said.

Fadell compared the potential Smartex to AppleSoftware software, Lurera said. “It’s not about computer, Mac, iPhone, or AirPods, but what they can do together, creates an ecosystem, a top layer that becomes much more valuable.”