Singulart

High-Level Overview

Singulart is an online marketplace and premium shop for contemporary art and design furniture, founded in 2017, that connects over 12,000 artists from 146+ countries with global collectors.[1][3][5] It serves art enthusiasts, collectors, and designers by offering curated paintings, photography, sculptures, and custom furnishings, solving the fragmentation of the traditional art market through digital accessibility, transparency, and affordability—averaging 1,700-2,000 artworks sold monthly to 2.6 million visitors.[1][5] With €60 million raised in a 2021 Series B round, Singulart has achieved over £100 million in sales by 2021, expanding into the US and launching initiatives like the Singulart Awards to empower creators.[2][3]

Origin Story

Singulart was founded in 2017 in Paris, France, by Véra Kempf, Brice Lecompte, and Denis Fayolle, driven by Kempf's observation that artists struggled with digital visibility in a fragmented, country-bound traditional art market.[1][3][4] Kempf, previously behind a Paris pastry restaurant called Carré Paris, teamed with Lecompte to apply e-commerce tech to this "dusty and unfair" sector, aiming for global exposure.[3][4] Early traction came from curating diverse artists, hitting milestones like 10,000+ artists by 2021 and the largest-ever arts sector funding round (€60M Series B), fueling US expansion and over £100M in sales.[2][3]

Core Differentiators

• Curated Global Artist Network: Represents 12,000+ artists (nearly half female) from 146+ countries, hand-scouted by a dedicated curation team led by Marion Sailhen for quality assurance, bypassing traditional gallery borders.[1][3][5]
• User-Friendly Digital Platform: Expertly designed interface with multilingual newsletters, social media, biannual print magazine, and trade benefits like custom sizing consultations, enabling easy discovery, auctions, and purchases in six languages.[1][5]
• Artist Empowerment Tools: Singulart Awards (e.g., Painter, Sculptor, Photographer of the Year since 2022) and ecosystem support like COVID-inspired collections and women's art events ("Les Singulières"), plus expansion to design furniture in 2022.[1][4]
• Proven Scale and Trust: 2.6M monthly visitors, 1,700-2,000 monthly sales, partnerships like Google Accelerator (2020), and features in media like the *Deal* documentary.[1][4][5]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Singulart rides the digital democratization wave in art, leveraging e-commerce and AI-driven curation to disrupt a market long dominated by elite galleries and national silos, much like how platforms transformed fashion or music.[1][3][5] Timing aligns with post-pandemic online shopping surges and rising demand for accessible, diverse art amid remote work and interior personalization trends, amplified by its 2021 funding for global scaling.[2][3] Market forces like growing female and emerging artist representation (e.g., 50% female artists) and furniture integration tap into the $60B+ global art market's shift to digital, influencing the ecosystem by boosting underrepresented creators' careers and providing designers affordable, high-quality alternatives to pricey vendors.[4][5]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Singulart is poised to deepen its ecosystem role with further category expansions (e.g., more design furniture) and tech integrations like enhanced personalization or VR previews, capitalizing on AI curation and Web3 art trends for even broader reach.[1][5] Rising collector interest in sustainable, story-driven art and global events like its Awards will drive growth, potentially doubling sales amid e-commerce art's projected boom. As a tech-enabled bridge for creators and buyers, Singulart will evolve from disruptor to market standard-setter, fully realizing its vision of an equal, digital-first art world.[3]