Fine Art Technician

Convelio lands fresh investment, expands New York storage plans and wins global Phillips logistics partnership. April 14, 2026 The paris-founded fine art logistics company Convelio is scaling its AI-powered inventory management platform, growing its storage network and deepening its reach across the international art market. Convelio, the tech-enabled fine art logistics and storage company founded in Paris, has secured new investment from a prominent French entrepreneurial dynasty with longstanding ties to the international art market. The funding marks a significant step for a business that has grown quickly by bringing greater speed, visibility and operational clarity to one of the art world's most stubbornly opaque sectors. Announced in Paris and London on 14 April 2026, the investment will support the next phase of Convelio's expansion, including the development of its AI-powered inventory management technology and the launch of a third specialist storage facility in New York. The company also confirmed that Phillips has appointed Convelio as its preferred global logistics partner, a deal that places the business more firmly at the centre of the high-value art trade. The figures underline the pace of that rise. In 2025, Convelio shipped $1.84 billion worth of fine art to 92 countries. Its services are now used by 3,000 art businesses, spanning shipping, storage and inventory management, with collectors buying works valued at $1 million or more emerging as its fastest-growing client segment. Since its founding in 2017, Convelio has positioned itself as a company fluent in both the rituals of the art market and the demands of contemporary logistics. It first made its name by building what it describes as the first algorithm capable of producing shipping quotes in seconds rather than the one to five days long typical of the sector. That system also helped bring costs down by 46 per cent compared with legacy fine art shippers. More recently, the company has widened its ambitions. Over the past 18 to 24 months, it has invested in building an end-to-end operating platform for galleries, collectors and auction houses seeking tighter control over the movement, storage and administration of artworks. Today, that offer spans instant digital shipping quotes and booking, real-time tracking, document management, AI-powered inventory management software and technician-led storage facilities in London and Paris. At the heart of Convelio's model is a hybrid proposition: machine-led efficiency paired with specialist human handling. In a market where trust remains everything, the company is arguing that technology works best not as a replacement for expertise, but as a framework that makes expertise more responsive, more legible and easier to scale. Over the past six months alone, its AI systems have supported the generation of more than 16,000 shipping quotes, saving its operations team a cumulative 384 days of manual work. The gain is practical as much as strategic, cutting administrative drag and freeing staff for more valuable client-facing work. Edouard Gouin, Co-Founder & CEO of Convelio: 'The art world has a tricky relationship with AI with participants more inclined to view AI as an existential threat than as a potent economic ally. For Art Plugged at Convelio, that distrust is wildly misplaced. AI's biggest contribution to art will not be to replace human artistic endeavour with cheap, quick AI-generated alternatives. It will lie in its ability to make the mechanisms of access, circulation and collection management more seamless, for the benefit of a wider community of collectors, art lovers and institutions.' That argument arrives at a pointed moment for the market. Each year, less than 4 per cent of the world's $1.7 trillion in privately held artworks is traded. Convelio sees part of the problem in the industry's inherited inefficiencies: high shipping costs, inconsistent pricing, poor visibility over stored works and a lack of standardised tracking across borders. For buyers and sellers alike, the experience remains fragmented and unnecessarily manual. The new funding is intended to address both sides of that problem. Convelio plans to deepen its investment in AI-led product development while expanding its physical storage infrastructure and on-the-ground technical teams. The company intends to grow from two storage locations to five globally by 2029. The first of those additions will be a flagship New York warehouse, due to open by autumn 2026. The choice of New York is unsurprising. The city remains the pre-eminent centre of the global art trade, and the US accounted for 44 per cent of global art market sales in 2025. For Convelio, a New York base is more than a geographic foothold. It is a statement of intent in a market where logistics, client service and speed increasingly shape competitive advantage. Gouin: 'As selling and collecting becomes more complex and international, clients are looking for better ways to manage shipping, storage, inventory and the administrative burden of moving works across borders. We are excited to work with a family office with such deep roots in the global art market whose support lets us double down on our strategy globally, notably in New York, the centre of the global arts world.' The partnership with Phillips adds further weight. One of the world's three largest auction houses, Phillips sells around $1 billion of fine art annually. Under the new arrangement, Convelio will support the auction house's post-sale logistics, storage and release services across London, New York and Hong Kong. The agreement points to a broader shift in how major players are approaching the mechanics of the secondary market: not as backstage administration, but as a crucial part of the client experience. Paul de Bono, COO of Phillips in Europe: 'For a long time, Art Plugged has been looking for ways to make its operations teams more efficient while meaningfully improving the client experience. Convelio's technology gives Art Plugged a powerful way to do both, combining stronger operational control with high service quality.' The Phillips deal also signals how far Convelio has moved beyond start-up novelty. The company now provides tech-driven fine art transport services, including for ultra-high-value works worth hundreds of millions of dollars, on behalf of the world's three largest auction houses. In a market often slow to alter its habits, that degree of institutional adoption matters. Gouin: 'Our partnership with Phillips is the result of two years' investment in building an ecosystem that delivers exponential value to both art businesses and their end clients. Art Plugged is grateful to Phillips for the trust they are showing in Art Plugged. This partnership delivers the strongest signal yet that Convelio is the right logistics partner to art businesses that see the value of investing in both human expertise and AI-led technology if they are to compete and succeed in the modern art economy.' The company's momentum has come during a period when the wider art market has been under pressure. After record sales in 2022, inflationary and geopolitical strains reduced market activity by more than 20 per cent by 2024. Convelio's growth, then, has not happened in benign conditions. It has come from expanding its role within the trade, moving from shipping specialist to broader logistics and collections management partner. Fritz Oidtmann, Managing Partner at Acton Capital, an investor in Convelio since 2019: 'At a time when the market has faced strong headwinds, Convelio adapted by deepening its vertical integration and broadening its service offering to deliver even greater value to clients, resulting in significantly stronger economics. This fundraising and the partnership with Phillips are hugely positive outcomes of this well executed strategy. Art Plugged is delighted to show Convelio its continuing support with this important investment for growth.' For a sector built on connoisseurship, discretion and physical stewardship, Convelio is making the case that logistics is no longer a back-office concern. It is part of the infrastructure of cultural exchange itself. With new capital, a New York expansion and a global partnership with Phillips, the company is betting that the future of fine art logistics will be defined by precision, transparency and a closer fit between technology and trust. (C) 2026 Convelio Art Plugged is a contemporary platform inspired by a relationship with the broader arts communities. Art Plugged provide its audience with curated insight into the world of art, from exhibitions to artist interviews and more.

Fine art logistics scaleup Convelio secures Series C to advance its AI-powered shipping and storage services. April 14, 2026 Startup Magazine's editorial team delivers independent, expert-led coverage of the... Convelio has secured a Series C investment to expand its AI-powered logistics and collections management services for the $60bn international art and antiques market. The investment was led by a prominent French entrepreneurial dynasty with strong ties to the global art market. Existing investors Forestay, Mundi Ventures and Acton Capital participated in the round. Convelio has also announced plans to extend its fine art storage offering to a third location - New York - after on-the-ground launches in London and Paris, both of which were operating above breakeven after less than a year in operation. Additionally, Convelio has been appointed global logistics provider by Phillips, one of the world's three largest auction houses. These developments come after a period of record growth for Convelio, which raised a $35m Series B in 2022. In 2025, the company shipped $1.84 bn of fine art, up 600% from $265m in 2022, despite economic and geopolitical headwinds that reduced the size of the global art market during that period. Convelio's customer base has also expanded significantly, with buyers of high value fine art (worth $1m or more) becoming the fastest growing segment. Convelio: marrying traditional art world expectations with modern technology capabilities. Founded in 2017, Convelio is revolutionising an international industry that, despite its size, is under-digitised. Every year, less than 4% of the world's $1.7 trillion privately held art works are traded. A barrier to more trade is market wide inefficiency. The market continues to be held back by high shipping costs, opaque pricing, limited visibility over stored inventory and the absence of standardised tracking, all within an experience that remains too fragmented and manual for both clients and logistics partners. To address these longstanding frictions, Convelio combines proprietary algorithms and AI-driven technology with the operational expertise of specialist fine art handlers to deliver a more efficient, transparent and dependable model for shipping and storage. Convelio's approach is bringing fine art logistics into the 21st century through a superior combination of service quality, care and perceived value. AI has helped to generate over 16,000 shipping quotes in the past 6 months alone, saving the Convelio operations team a cumulative 384 days of manual work. This has significantly reduced administrative overhead and allowed the team to focus more of their time on higher-value, client-facing work. Today, 3,000 art businesses globally rely on Convelio for: * The industry's first end-to-end shipping platform: instant shipping quotes and booking through a digital platform, allowing customers to manage shipments, documents and real-time tracking in one place * AI-powered Inventory Management: solving one of the market's most persistent challenges: giving clients clear, real-time visibility of collections in transit and in storage * Storage infrastructure: experienced fine art technicians operate specialist storage facilities for clients in London and Paris. Challenging the arts world's perception of AI. Edouard Gouin, Co-Founder & CEO of Convelio: 'The art world has a tricky relationship with AI with participants more inclined to view it as an existential threat than as a potent economically. For Startups Magazine at Convelio, that distrust is wildly misplaced. AI's biggest contribution to art will not be to replace human artistic endeavour with cheap, quick AI-generated alternatives. It will lie in its ability to make the mechanisms of access, circulation and collection management more seamless, for the benefit of a wider community of collectors, art lovers and institutions.' A representative for Convelio's lead Series C investor: 'In a market known for its lack of innovation, logistics customers have had to accept a tradeoff between specialist human expertise and efficient tech-led operations. Convelio's ability to blend advanced technology that makes processes simpler and faster to control with expert fine art technicians on the ground stands them apart. The business is showing clear proof that its model works not only at scale, but also for top-end fine art logistics.' Investment in talent, facilities and scalable AI. Convelio will use this new investment capital to accelerate rollout of its hybrid growth strategy: * Creating more AI-led technology that customers value: even greater automation to quotations, workflow coordination and operational visibility to reduce manual workload and free up customers' time to offer better services to their end-clients * Expanding network of global assets: expanding its on-the-ground teams of experienced technicians to operate specialist art storage facilities; three new facilities will be launched by 2029, including a flagship warehouse in New York, the leading global hub for high-value art transactions. The US accounted for almost half (44%) of global art market sales in 2025. Gouin: 'We are proud to welcome to Convelio a family with deep roots in the global art market whose investment allows us to double down on our strategy globally, notably in New York - the centre of the global arts world.' Fritz Oidtmann, Managing Partner at Acton Capital: 'At a time when the market has faced strong headwinds, Convelio adapted by deepening its vertical integration and broadening its service offering to deliver even greater value to clients, resulting in significantly stronger economics. This fundraising and the partnership with Phillips are hugely positive outcomes of this well executed strategy. Startups Magazine is delighted to show Convelio its continuing support with this important investment for growth.' A major strategic partnership for a new chapter. Phillips, which sells around $1 billion of fine art works annually, has named Convelio its preferred global logistics partner. Convelio now provides tech-driven services to transport fine art (including ultra-high value works worth as much as hundreds of millions of dollars) on behalf of the world's three largest auction houses. Leveraging Convelio's AI-powered technology and operational workflows, Phillips will provide its fine art clients and partners with an integrated post-sale experience spanning shipping, storage and release services across its principal markets of London, New York and Hong Kong. Paul de Bono, COO of Phillips in Europe: 'For a long time, Startups Magazine has been looking for ways to make its operations teams more efficient while meaningfully improving the client experience. Convelio's technology gives Startups Magazine a powerful way to do both, combining stronger operational control with high service quality.' Gouin: 'Our partnership with Phillips is the result of two years' investment in building an ecosystem that delivers exponential value to both art businesses and their end clients. Startups Magazine is grateful to Phillips for the trust they are showing in Startups Magazine. This partnership delivers the strongest signal yet that Convelio is the right logistics partner to art businesses that see the value of investing in both human expertise and AI-led technology if they are to compete and succeed in the modern art economy.'