How Levi's uses AI to accelerate its design process and digital transformation

As ubiquitous as machine learning is in the enterprise, Levi's might not be the first brand that comes to mind when you think of AI smarts. As a company that has been producing jeans and other denim apparel since 1853, Levi Strauss & Co. seemed to be doing just fine without the intervention of neural networks and machine learning algorithms. But like so many large companies, Levi's has found plenty of uses for AI technology, from automating mundane tasks and analyzing denim-related data sets to helping its designers create new denim jacket designs. In 2019, Levi's formalized its years-long flirtation with AI by hiring Katia Walsh as the company's chief AI and strategy officer to lead its new global AI team. As part of her effort to integrate this bleeding edge tech into an established legacy brand, Walsh launched the company's first-ever Machine Learning Bootcamp in early 2021.