Vend to explore AI-native marketplaces with independent innovation unit

AI is an opportunity to rethink marketplace platforms. Vend – the owner of strong local marketplaces brands counting Blocket in Sweden and FINN in Norway – is now exploring how a new generation of AI-native discovery and search experiences could reshape how users interact with marketplaces. To accelerate this work, Vend has established a dedicated AI Unit that will operate beyond the bounds of the current structure, creating space for faster experimentation and development.

“We have chosen to establish an independent business unit that will explore AI-native marketplaces. This work is centred on developing entirely new types of user experiences, rather than incrementally improving existing ones. The ambition is to move towards more intuitive, agentic journeys, where users can express needs in natural language and seamlessly explore opportunities within a more unified experience,” said Christian Printzell Halvorsen, CEO of Vend.

Initial exploration will focus on new AI-driven interfaces as standalone entry points, designed to enable more flexible, contextual, and exploratory user journeys. These experiences will be developed independently of existing product roadmaps, allowing for faster iteration and more radical experimentation. Over time, these experiences could evolve into fully integrated, end-to-end journeys that span from discovery to transaction, including the potential for more autonomous, agent-driven interactions.

An independent AI mode unit

The business unit is deliberately set up as a separate track from ongoing development in the verticals and central product organisation. This means the unit will operate with a high degree of independence to enable rapid experimentation and exploration of fundamentally different marketplace offerings. The ambition is to scale successful concepts across Vend’s platforms over time.

“At Vend, we are already advancing AI across our verticals and central data and product & tech organisation. This work will continue. Our new independent AI unit will operate with a high degree of autonomy, and focus on building and validating entirely new AI-native experiences while ensuring that successful concepts can be efficiently integrated into Vend’s core business,” said Christian Printzell Halvorsen.

The team will develop capabilities such as AI-driven discovery mechanisms, agent-based interactions, and next-generation user interfaces, leveraging Vend’s scale, data, and strong market positions in the Nordics to test and refine solutions in real user environments.

Defined time horizon

The new AI mode unit is not intended to be a permanent unit, and its success will primarily be measured by user adoption and satisfaction, including ambitious targets for engagement across Vend’s marketplaces, within a limited time frame.

The team will consist of a small and agile team combining engineering, product, and business expertise. Vend will recruit both internally and externally.

The initiative will be executed within Vend’s existing financial framework and does not change the company’s communicated financial guidelines. As Vend continues to invest in innovation and platform capabilities, this initiative reinforces the company’s focus on strengthening its core business, improving user experience, and positioning Vend to capture long-term opportunities driven by AI.