AI-powered Brarista expands globally and deepens impact for women following £510k GC Angels investment
Award-winning Manchester-based femtech startup Brarista has rapidly expanded across international markets and product categories following a £510k pre-seed investment led by GC Angels in February of 2025, supporting its mission of transforming the bra and swimwear shopping experience through its innovative AI-powered bra fitting.
In under a year since the investment, Brarista has grown from a single beta partnership into a multi-territory, multi-category platform operating across the UK, US and Australia. The business now spans everyday bras, sports bras, maternity bras, swimwear, loungewear and specialist bra balancers, significantly broadening the number of women it supports at different life stages.
Founded in 2019 by entrepreneur Bella Trang Ngo, Brarista was created to address a longstanding issue in retail, with between 70% and 80% of women estimated to be wearing the wrong bra size. The platform combines professional bra fitting with cutting-edge AI technology to deliver personalised sizing, smart product recommendations and 24/7 support. Poor fit can impact women’s comfort and confidence and contributes to a £10bn annual returns problem in lingerie, with many items ultimately going to landfill.
Since receiving backing from GC Angels and Innovate UK, Brarista has rapidly scaled its retail partnerships and expand into new product categories, now working with Nudea, Little Women, Evenly, Latched, Marbra and Lou Swim and Boobydoo. Commercial performance across live implementations has been strong. Retailers using Brarista’s conversational AI have reported an 85% reduction in returns among chat users, alongside a 5x uplift in conversion rates and a 15% reduction in operational costs.
The impact, however, extends beyond commercial performance. Research shows breasts can move up to 15cm during exercise without proper support, causing pain, long-term tissue damage and discouraging girls and women from participating in sport. By expanding into sports bras and supporting online guidance for specialist retailers such as Boobydoo, Brarista is helping to remove a key barrier to female participation in physical activity.
The company has also intentionally built its platform to support underserved communities, including post-surgery customers, pregnant and nursing mothers, transgender and non-binary bra shoppers, and neurodivergent individuals who may find traditional in-store fitting environments overwhelming.
Bella Trang Ngo, founder and CEO of Brarista, said: “Since partnering with GC Angels last year, we’ve been able to accelerate our mission at pace, expanding internationally, supporting more product categories and, most importantly, reaching more women who have historically been underserved by the lingerie industry.
“We’re not just building a generic chatbot. We’re building fit infrastructure that removes barriers stopping women and girls from participating fully in work, sport and everyday life. Looking ahead, we plan to continue growing the platform into new markets and categories, helping even more women find the confidence, comfort and support they deserve.”
Ranvir Singh, investment manager at GC Angels, added: “Brarista’s growth over the past year has been exceptional. Bella is a great example of the talent here in the North of England, using cutting-edge AI and innovation to deliver both strong commercial results and real social impact for women.
“It’s been amazing to work with her as she continues to expand internationally, while also sharing her insights and experience with other entrepreneurs through our Venture Forward Accelerator programme. We’re proud to continue supporting Brarista as it scales globally.”