Rent the Runway Wins Best Application of AI

Rent the Runway has taken home the Best Application of Artificial Intelligence in a Company Award at the prestigious ITAG (Innovation Technology AtlanTec Gateway) Excellence Awards held recently in The Hardiman in Galway.

Rent the Runway’s European software and technology hub employs around 70 people at its base in the Piscatorial School in the Claddagh area in the heart of Galway. At the awards, Rent the Runway was shortlisted three times across three separate categories.

The Best Application of AI award was given to Rent the Runway for their creation and deployment of a new proprietary machine learning algorithm that has improved the company’s text search function with significant, measurable results.

The AI search now allows users to explore the Rent the Runway site with outfit descriptions, such as “pink sparkly Barbie dress”, or to search for outfits suitable for specific occasions like “Weekend Brunch” or “Holidays to Greece.”

Rent the Runway’s fashion buyers are also benefiting from the new machine learning-powered search service and use it for language-driven searches of historical inventory to inform their purchasing decisions for upcoming seasons.

“The need for the AI-driven solution arose from the increasing challenge of helping users find relevant styles beyond simple keyword matches”, said Dorothy Creaven, Vice President, Managing Director and site lead at Rent the Runway in Galway. “Traditional search methods had become unscalable due to the diversity of search queries, and we are delighted to see the team’s innovations and efforts recognised and rewarded by the wider tech community.”

Rent the Runway established its European technology hub in Galway in April 2019 and is Rent the Runway’s first international office outside the US.

The award-winning team in Galway tackles core technology challenges and influences the next generation of services critical to Rent The Runway’s success and continued growth.

Founded in 2000, ITAG’s mission as a non-profit tech association is to develop technology innovation along the AtlanTec Gateway. The itag awards annually showcase the top talent in technology in the West of Ireland.

See more stories here.