The fashion design and development industry has traditionally operated on lengthy timelines and outdated processes. Cheryl Liu, the founder of Raspberry AI—an AI-powered platform for fashion creatives—is helping brands and retailers rethink how collections are conceived, developed, and delivered. By leveraging the speed of AI, she is transforming the market delivery of these collections. With her recently secured $24 million in Series A funding, Raspberry AI aims for significant growth.

Liu holds an Applied Science degree from Columbia University and an MBA from Stanford University. With her background as an investor with creative instincts, she is part of a rising group of Asian-American women founders transforming the fashion-tech industry. Born in Tianjin, China, and raised in the U.S., Liu grew up in a household of doctors but always had a passion for creating. From making homemade jewelry and selling flour-filled rubber gloves as stress balls in grade school to exploring art and music throughout her education, she calls her upbringing the foundation of her entrepreneurial mindset. "I was the CEO of myself and my younger sister," she joked. "My parents were busy. I had to learn to adapt, make decisions, and run things early."

Liu didn't come from a traditional fashion background, but she had long been immersed in the industry from the business investment side. "I've never studied fashion design, but I've always really loved fashion, just as a consumer," she explained. Her career began in investment and business operations, evaluating North American fashion retailers and helping them navigate the shift to e-commerce. Roles at Amazon and Catawiki further exposed her to fashion's intersection with machine learning and online marketplaces. The idea for Raspberry AI crystallized when she saw how social media platforms were reshaping consumer behavior. "I was watching how Shein became very big on TikTok… and I just felt like that was a huge shift that fashion was being consumed," Liu said. She believed this behavioral transformation was as significant as the shift in consumer purchasing habits online 20 years ago. Yet, most of the industry still operated on outdated timelines. Designers continue to rely heavily on traditional practices influenced by runway shows. They draw inspiration from what is showcased on the runway to create collections for mass and premium markets. "A lot of brands are still operating on a 12 to 18-month lead time cycle from initial design to product in their stores or online," she observed. Raspberry AI was her response to this disconnect. Watching the rise of TikTok-driven mega brands like Shein, she recognized a major shift: inspiration no longer starts on the runway but in the algorithm. That, she said, was her cue.

"Shein built a model where you go from social signal to shelf in three days," Liu explained. “That kind of responsiveness is the future.” While Raspberry's platform doesn't aim to replace 3D software, it is designed to "help the brands accelerate idea generation," Liu said. By turning rough sketches into photorealistic images with accurate materials and trims, teams can visualize products earlier in the process and reduce sampling time and cost by up to 60%. "I think 70% of the industry never adopted 3D because it was difficult to use," she added, noting that Raspberry AI's intuitive, prompt-based AI makes design more accessible for teams without intensive training.

The newly launched marketing suite goes one step further, allowing brands to create, market, and test consumer response before making the first sample. "The goal is to shrink the gap between idea and market," Liu said. "If you know what your customer wants before production, you produce smarter. You produce less. That's real sustainability."

Innovation alone isn't sufficient. Liu recognizes that the biggest challenge is not technology but managing changes in people and processes. Raspberry AI offers more than a product; Liu and her team build partnerships that integrate the client's calendar, align with design cycles, and provide hands-on support. "We are familiar with every line review and sketch milestone," she explained. Raspberry AI's new marketing suite harnesses real-time customer feedback to ensure designs meet market demand. This platform allows brands to utilize data from their best-selling items and facilitates immediate data sharing with suppliers and partners. This enhancement of feedback loops helps reduce overproduction.

Liu stresses the importance of integrating tools into existing workflows while demonstrating a quick return on investment (ROI). Raspberry AI supports teams throughout the adoption process, stressing that providing software is insufficient without dedicated management. "Change management is crucial," she noted, emphasizing how the fashion industry often resists new workflows. Raspberry AI doesn't just sell software; it becomes an integral part of the client's design calendar, offering customized support.

Liu's experience in investment banking and business school connections helped her build an early network. But she also emphasized the importance of knowing what investors want. "Sometimes if you don't come from an investment or a finance background, it's hard to know exactly what investors are looking for and what would excite them," she said. She urges founders to think beyond just building a good product and consider how their vision aligns with long-term criteria. "If you're not telling the story to fit the investor's criteria, there will be a mismatch."

"Only 2% of venture capital goes to women," she noted, even less to Asian-American women, and solo founders often face more scrutiny.

Liu advised starting to build relationships with investors long before you need capital. "Treat those conversations like client development," she said. "Update them, show them you're executing, and align your story to their definition of what a great company looks like."

And while her background in investment helped, Liu believes storytelling is the real differentiator.

"You have to go beyond the product," she said. If Figma can be worth $20 billion for web designers, why can’t we build something just as valuable for fashion designers?"

As for her advice to fellow founders? Trust yourself.

"There will always be conflicting feedback. Investors, advisors, users—everyone has an opinion. But you know your business better than anyone else," Liu said. "Don't outsource your gut."