Keychain Raises $30 Million, Unveils AI OS for CPG Manufacturers

Keychain, a New York-headquartered startup that connects consumer packaged-goods companies with manufacturing partners, has raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Wellington Management with participation from existing backer BoxGroup. The financing lifts total funding to $68 million, giving the two-year-old firm more than $50 million in cash on hand, according to Chief Executive Officer Oisin Hanrahan. The company simultaneously introduced KeychainOS, an artificial-intelligence operating system designed to replace or integrate with legacy enterprise-resource-planning software used by manufacturers. The first module, already live, converts quantitative plant data into compliance reports and can surface information via natural-language queries. Additional modules for procurement, inventory and production planning are scheduled to follow, positioning Keychain to compete with Oracle, QAD and Plex in the food and personal-care sectors. Keychain’s platform is currently used by eight of the 10 largest U.S. retailers—including 7-Eleven and Whole Foods—and seven of the top CPG brands to source third-party manufacturers. More than 20,000 brands and retailers and about 30,000 manufacturers are on the marketplace, with manufacturers paying between $10,000 and $100,000 a year, Hanrahan said. The company will use its new capital chiefly to double the headcount of its engineering hub in Gurugram, India, from 35 to 70 this year and to expand into European markets.