In recent years, we have seen a regular decline in investment in consumer-facing product startups, especially those selling gadgets and gift goods.
While there is no single explanation for this decline, it doesn’t help that this has been a difficult area for returns. As we have covered, this is a widespread trend, impacting areas resembling fashion, consumer electronics, and the once-burgeoning direct selling space.
All of which means if someone were browsing recently funded startups for gift ideas, the options would not be as wide as they once were. No more $700 juicers smart party coolers this holiday season.
That said, there are still some intriguing options in the mix, especially around wellness, personalization, and apparel. To illustrate this, we used Crunchbase data create a list of 24 corporations that this 12 months financed products available on the market, from libido-boosting kits to 3D printers. We also look at some of the clearer trends.
Wellness is one of the leading trends
Wellness has been a key area of focus for gadget and consumer products startups this 12 months.
This includes the best-funded and best-known name on the list – Ourmanufacturer of smart rings that track over 20 biometrics to provide users with personalized and up-to-date health metrics. The starting price is around $500.
Everyone could use a higher night’s sleep, and startups are also tackling this space. The most significant collection here is Eight sleepwhich raised $100 million in a Series D round in August. It sells connected bed hardware that could be adjusted to provide optimal temperature and support.
Aging also comes with well-being needs, and startups are also addressing this. This includes the headquarters in San Francisco OneSkinwhich sells anti-aging skincare products and raised $20 million this summer. And for menopausal and post-menopausal women, there is a Black Friday sale at Femininitywhich sells “menopause survival” kits for libido and healthy aging, in addition to skincare and sexual well-being products.
Personalization
Personalized gifts are also a popular offering, with several recently funded startups focusing on custom products.
For artistic types, Arcade offers an AI-enabled platform for designing jewelry and home furnishings. The startup then works with a team of “verified creators” to turn the design into a finished product.
Manicure on the front, Empty beauty creates custom nail polishes based on photos submitted by customers. The Tennessee startup raised $6 million in Series A funding in May.
Meanwhile, for those looking for an expensive item to pre-order, crowdsourced EufyMake wants to enable you to create your personal custom works with his personal, UV printer for 3D textures. You can currently pre-order the printer for $2,300.
Fashion is still in (to some extent)
We also proceed to see start-ups in the fashion industry raising large rounds, although it should be admitted that this is not the most action-packed sector.
The biggest fundraiser for startups in this area of interest in 2025 was Kim Kardashian Skims. The shapewear and apparel brand closed a $225 million Series D round this month.
Vivrelleluxury accessories subscription offering, was one other investor favorite, grossing $62 million this summer. It also runs a Black Friday sale for fans of designer handbags.
Fun and financing
Overall, there’s a lot to buy, even if VCs aren’t big customers in the consumer space.
This is quite typical. As the startup category evolves, consumer products have all the time been one of the more fun to research. The offers are normally clever, quirky and nice, if not essential.
While this category could also be the favorite of startup reporters, it isn’t all the time the favorite of enterprise capitalists. This was evident in 2025, when VCs invested record sums in AI deals and largely ignored market-ready consumer products and gadget startups.
Still, I would not rule out this sector. First, while we have not seen many market-ready consumer products unicorns, investors have poured significant resources into a variety of robotics startups working on consumer products.
Housework bots look particularly attractive. Two-year-old Bot company. has so far raised $300 million to develop a household robot. AND SundayAND Benchmark-a supported startup building a home robot able to performing on a regular basis duties has introduced its first bot, Notelast week. Several others in the heavily funded space are working on each consumer and more specialized workplace bot offerings.
Perhaps in a few years they can be the hottest holiday product. If they work in addition to the early prompts, they could even give you the option to wrap themselves.