Video thumbnail for Inside The RealReal’s AI-Powered Authentication Center

Inside The RealReal’s AI-Powered Authentication Center

Aug 20, 2026
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Fortune

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The secondhand clothing market is booming worldwide. Yet it took over a decade for The RealReal to reach profitability, and ThredUp is still chasing that goal, due in part to the hugely complex intake process that goes into receiving, authenticating, pricing, listing and delivering millions of unique items. Today, AI is revolutionizing that process. Fortune senior writer Phil Wahba goes behind the scenes at The RealReal’s authentication center in New Jersey to see how the new AI-powered intake tools are transforming the secondhand clothing industry.