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Vela Labs
500 Global '15Plug and Play Ventures5 known investors
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Vela offers an AI-based platform that automates routine selling tasks and supports management across multiple ecommerce platforms, letting sellers centralize their shops and add new sales channels. It combines AI tools with proprietary data to surface insights for online sellers.
Also known as Hive · Vela · Vela Labs, Inc.
Investors · 5
How we know: Creative HQ — The Incubator's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us
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How we know: PICUS CAPITAL's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us
How we know: open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · plugandplaytechcenter.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Vela Labs, Inc. (operating as Vela, formerly Hive) provides an AI-driven software platform for eCommerce sellers who manage product listings across multiple online marketplaces. The product consolidates a seller's shops into a single interface and provides over 100 AI-assisted tools spanning listing creation (CSV import, bulk editing, listing scoring, scheduled publication, print-on-demand support, media library), listing optimization (editing, copying and merging listings, attribute scoring, scheduled updates, listing profiles, photo unification, mockup generation), photo and video work (product isolation, background replacement, photo enhancement, crop and expand, alt-text generation) and multi-channel publishing and CSV export.
The platform connects to seller accounts through official marketplace APIs, with named integrations for Etsy, Shopify, eBay and Faire, and stores a copy of inventory data — titles, descriptions, tags and variants — to support rapid bulk editing. Users sign up directly or through Google or Facebook authentication; payments are processed via Stripe, product analytics via PostHog, and hosting runs on commercial cloud infrastructure. The company states that users retain ownership of both the inputs they supply and the AI-generated outputs for their shops, that it does not sell personal or shop data, and that synced inventory and personal data are deleted from active databases when an account is closed.
Founding story
The company was started in 2018 in San Francisco by Justin Killian and Jason Abaluck.
Business model
Subscription software sold directly to online sellers, with a one-week free trial that does not require a credit card. Payments are processed through Stripe and a pricing page is published on the company site.
Traction
The company's website states more than 100,000 eCommerce sellers use the platform, over 100 million listings managed, an average revenue increase of more than 25% and more than 20 hours saved weekly per seller.
Latest developments
The company's privacy policy carries an effective date of January 1, 2026 and a last-updated date of March 27, 2026, and documents marketplace integrations with Etsy, Shopify, eBay and Faire alongside AI-transparency disclosures aligned to the EU AI Act.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as a multi-channel listing management and AI optimization layer sitting on top of established marketplaces, competing for sellers who otherwise manage listings natively on Etsy, Shopify, eBay or Faire.
Technology
An AI-based SaaS platform that generates and optimizes listing content — text, images and video — and applies bulk operations across connected shops. It integrates with marketplaces via their official APIs and combines AI tooling with proprietary data to surface insights. The company classifies its AI systems as low-risk content-generation tools under the EU AI Act and discloses their use to users.
Go-to-market
Self-serve sign-up from the company website with a one-week free trial and no credit card required, supported by marketplace app distribution, customer testimonials and paid marketing measured through tracking pixels and web analytics.
Online sellers and small merchants operating storefronts on marketplaces such as Etsy, Shopify, eBay and Faire, including sellers running multiple shops or selling across several channels; customer testimonials come from art, glassware, apparel and wholesale sellers.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, with users served globally; the company addresses California (CCPA) and European (GDPR) privacy regimes and relies on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers of European data, and names an EU representative contact.
History
Founded in San Francisco in 2018 by Justin Killian and Jason Abaluck, the company previously operated under the name Hive before becoming Vela Labs, Inc. It has been identified as a portfolio company of 500 Global.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Vela Labswelcome.getvela.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Vela Labs do?
- Vela Labs runs an AI platform that helps eCommerce sellers create, optimize and publish listings across multiple marketplaces.
- Who are Vela Labs's investors?
- Vela Labs's investors include Creative HQ — The Incubator, General Catalyst, PICUS CAPITAL, Plug and Play Ventures, 500 Global.