LAAM raises $5.5M seed to scale South Asian fashion globally

Pakistan-based LAAM Technologies has raised $5.5 million in a seed round led by disrupt.com and Zayn VC. Graph Ventures and Mentors Fund also participated, alongside individual backers from Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce.

Founded in 2019, the e-commerce platform curates South Asian ethnic fashion, connecting global buyers with local artisans and sellers. It carries a catalog of over 100,000 articles from more than 1,000 brands and sells in over 100 countries, with the US, Canada, the UK, the Middle East, and Pakistan as its top markets.

LAAM will use the funding to scale its platform, improve its AI-driven discovery and logistics tools, and expand its network of local sellers. Chief executive officer Arif Iqbal said the company is "combining cutting-edge tech with the timeless appeal of South Asian craftsmanship."

The round sits in the 96th percentile among all-time seed rounds for fashion startups in Pakistan, making it one of the sector's larger early-stage raises.

LAAM is betting on a growing market. Global South Asian ethnic wear is projected to reach $129 billion in revenue by 2030, with digital spending accounting for nearly $46 billion. The company says it already supports the livelihoods of over 10,000 families.

Investors are backing platforms that digitise culturally specific categories often overlooked by mainstream e-commerce. LAAM's raise shows appetite for Pakistani startups aiming at global consumers from a local base.