A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – RETAILTECH
- Everseen, an AI-based theft detection for offline stores, secures funding from MARCOL. Link
- Density, a device that tracks foot traffic in merchant stores, raised $4M Series A funding led by Upfront Ventures. Link
- ShoppinPal, a mobile commerce platform for brick & mortar retail stores, raised $1.07M Series A funding led by Plug and Play Tech Center and Steelhead Ventures. Link
- MappedIn, an interactive indoor navigation system for shoppers, raised $1.4M led by Green Century Investments. Link
- Index, a performance-based marketing for brick and mortar stores, raised $19M Series B funding led by General Catalyst. Link
- FlexReceipts, a digital receipts solution as part of customer engagement, raised $2.5M Series B funding in a round led by Synchrony Financial. Link
- IFeelGoods, a loyalty platform, raised $6M from Up Group, Idinvest, and Tugboat Ventures. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Sunbit (2016, LA) – Payment technology devised for offline retailers based on EMI concept.
Bellboi (2016, SF) – Analytics to algorithmically implement n=1 marketing strategies.
LEADER BOARD – RETAILTECH
Point-Of-Sale – mPOS
Square (2009, SF, IPO ) – A POS solution provider for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Acquired Kili Technology, 80/20, FastBite, Caviar, Evenly, Framed, and BookFresh. Went public in 2015. Current market capital is 4.09B.
Revel Systems (2010, SF, $127M) – An iPad based Point of Sale solution. Backed by DCM Ventures and wcas.com.
ShopKeep (2008, NYC, $97M) – Cloud-based PoS software provider for retailers. Backed by Canaan Partners, Tribeca Venture Partners, Thayer Street Partners Management and Activant Capital.
Point-Of-Sale – Self-Checkout
Scandit (2009, Zurich, $5.5M) – Developer of software-based barcode scanning and data capture platform for smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices. Raised funding in a round led by led by Ariel Luedi, CEO at Hybris.
ShelfX (2011, Boulder, $1.6M) – Self-checkout inventory management solutions for micro markets.
Point-Of-Sale – Alternative Payments
LevelUp (2008, Boston, $51M) – Mobile wallet provider and white label service. Backed by Highland Capital Partners, Balderton Capital, and GV.
YoYo (2013, London, $24M) – Mobile wallet and loyalty app. Backed by Imperial Innovations.
Analytics – In-Store
RetailNext (2007, San Jose, $184M) – Real-time in-store analytics using WiFi and Bluetooth sensors. Backed by Activant Capital Group, NGP, StarVest Partners and August Capital.
Trax (2010, Singapore, $78M) – Image recognition solution for monitoring and analyzing retail shelves.
Euclid Analytics (2010, Palo Alto, $44M) – Provider of actionable shopper insights to brick and mortar retailers. Backed by Cox Enterprises, Benchmark, and NEA.
Brickstream (2000, Norcross, $36M) – Provider of behavior measurement technology for offline retailers. Backed by
Eastward Capital Partners, Columbia Capital, and Mohr Davidow Ventures. Acquired Nomi in 2014.
Analytics – Market Intelligence
Bazaarvoice (2005, Austin, IPO) – SaaS solutions that help brands to capture, analyze, and act on data from social media. Went public in 2012. Current Market Capital is 342.30M.
Fractal Analytics (2000, San Mateo, $125M) – Predictive and advanced big data analytics. Backed by
Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Acquired Imagna Analytics and Mobius in 2015.
Manthan Retail (2004, Bangalore, $101M) – Big data analytics solutions to the Retail, Pharma and CPG markets. Backed by NVP, Fidelity International Limited and ePlanet Capital.
Customer Engagement – Clienteling
Capillary Tech (2008, Bangalore, $79M) – Platform managing the entire life cycle of customer data from acquisition, analysis, insights and activations. Backed by Sequoia Capital, NVP and Warburg Pincus.
Starmount (2006, Austin, $13M, Acq.) – Customer engagement through in-store browser kiosks. Backed by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Acquired by Infor on July 2016.
Ecrebo (2010, London, $8M) – Customer engagement through targeted marketing. Backed by Octopus Ventures.
Toushay (2011, Ottawa, $6M) – In-store engagement solutions through various TouchPoints.
Customer Engagement – Augmented Shopping
Me-Ality (1994, Santa Clara, $48M) – Virtual fitting solutions provider to businesses. Backed by Northwater Capital and Nova Scotia Business.
Marxent (2011, Dayton, $13M) – AR & VR solutions for visual commerce. Backed by Detroit Venture Partners and Stage 1 Ventures.
Avametric (2012, SF, $10.5M) – Fashion software company that provides virtual fitting technologies for offline stores. Backed by Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures.
Customer Engagement – Navigation
Aisle411 (2008, St. Louis, $10M) – Indoor retail mapping and location service. Backed by Cultivation Capital.
Insiteo (2009, Colomiers, $4.87M) – Indoor navigation technology provider for offline retail. Backed by Creathor Venture.
Customer Engagement – Loyalty & Rewards
FiveStars (2011, SF, $90M) – Customer loyalty program which integrates with merchant POS systems. Backed by
HarbourVest Partners.
Linkable Networks (2010, Boston, $37M) – Card-linked program which offers company with the ability to provide coupons. Backed by Converge Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, and Blue Chip Venture Company.
Appcard (2011, NYC, $26.5M) – Loyalty platform providing merchants with effective tools to raise profits and increase customer retention. Backed by Founders Fund and Innovation Endeavors.
Customer Engagement – Feedback
Saygent (2009, Mountain View, $2M) – Mobile customer feedback and voice analytics. Backed by Innovation Endeavors, Karlin Ventures and Kima Ventures.
Emtrics (2011, Madrid, $620k) – Feedback service for offline business. Backed by Wayra.
Marketing – In-store
Swirl Networks (2011, Boston, $32M) – Indoor location-based marketing platform. Backed by Hearst Ventures and SoftBank Capital.
ComQi (2005, NYC, $28M) – End-to-end technology platform to manage in-venue digital signage, mobile and social media. Backed by Ithmaar Bank.
YCD Multimedia (1999, NYC, $26.5M) – In-store digital media solutions. Backed by Pitango Venture Capital and Arts Alliance Ventures. Acquired C-nario in 2011.
Marketing – Proximity Marketing
Index (2012, SF, $26M) – Performance-based marketing for brick and mortar stores. Backed by General Catalyst Partners and Innovation Endeavors.
Eversight Labs (2013, Palo Alto, $24M) – Cloud-based solution that enables promotion testing by presenting digital offers to consumers that can be redeemed in-store. Backed by Emergence Capital Partners.
MaxPoint (2007, Morrisville, $11M) – Cross channel digital marketing through buyer-product mapping. Backed by Trinity Ventures.
Monitoring – Compliance
Quri (2010, SF, $31M) – Retail intelligence company that provides compliance checks of store level operations. Backed by Matrix Partners.
Gigwalk (2010, SF, $18M) – Mobile-based platform that unites retail businesses with temporary workers to check store compliance. Backed by SoftTech and August Capital.
BeMyEye (2011, Milano, $10M) – Data gathering platform by utilizing the crowd source. Backed by 360 Capital Partners and Nauta Capital. Acquired LocalEyes on May 2016.
Monitoring – Security – Theft Prevention
3VR (2002, SF, $59M) – Video intelligence solutions for real-time security to detect fraud and customer insights. Backed by Menlo Ventures and Opus Bank.
Iverify (2002, Charlotte, $52M) – Provider of innovative security solutions, including real-time remote monitoring services, for retailers. Backed by Driehaus Private Equity.
Agilence (2006, Camden, $24M) – Intelligent video auditing solutions to identify shrink. Backed by Arrowroot Capital and Laurel Capital Partners. Acquired Vidient in 2011.
Monitoring – Security – Fraud Detection
ChannelIQ (2009, Chicago, $12M, Acq.) – Online price monitoring solution for brand protection. Backed by Drive Capital. Acquired by Market Track on June 2016.
Sproxil (2009, Cambridge, $2.3M) – Mobile technology to combat counterfeit products. Backed by Acumen.
In-Store Operations Automation
ZoomSystems (2002, SF, $79M) – Automated retail shops and solutions for unattended PoS. Backed by Goldman Sachs and NeoCarta Ventures. Acquired Vigix in 2013.
In-Store Operations Automation – Electronic Shelf Labels
Displaydata (2000, Bracknell, $66M) – Electronic Shelf Labels to manage omnichannel pricing and promotions strategy. Backed by TTP Ventures and Lansdowne Partners.
Label Insight (2008, Chicago, $13M) – SaaS solution to develop a comprehensive view of the data on product labels. Backed by
Cultivation Capital, KPMG and Mercury Fund.
In-Store Operations Automation – Planogramming Solutions
EasyFill (2005, Ostersund, IPO) -Rotating shelf solutions for retail stores. Went public in 2007.
Revionics (2002, Austin, $57M) – Solutions for optimization of pricing, promotions, markdown, space, and assortment. Backed by Goldman Sachs and Sierra Ventures.
In-Store Operations Automation – Robotics
Bossa Nova Robotics (2005, Pittsburgh, $23M) – Developer of in-store mobile information dispensing robots. Backed by Riverwood Capital.
Fellow Robots (2014, Mountain View, $225k) – Robot technology for retail stores to keep customers engaged. Backed by Plug and Play Tech Center.
Back Office – Suite
InContext Solutions (2009, Chicago, $21M) – Platform to create a virtual store simulation and design new in-store concepts, evaluate them with test shoppers and activate those concepts. Backed by Plymouth Ventures, Beringea and Hyde Park Angels.
Back Office – Inventory Management
TagSys (2001, King of Prussia, $68M, Acq.) – RFID-based retail inventory management. Backed by Cazenove Private Equity and Saffron Hill Ventures. Acquired by Invengo on June 2016.
Back Office – Inventory Management – Smart Vending Solutions
Ubox (2010, Beijing, $85M) – Smart O2O vending machines where customers can make purchases through their mobile app. Backed by Carlyle Group.
Cantaloupe System (2002, SF, $19M) – Cloud-based mobile technologies that deliver an integrated end-to-end vending retail solution. Backed up Global Environment Fund Management and Foundation Capital.
Back Office – Inventory Management – Demand Forecasting
Predictix (2005, Atlanta, $40M, Acq.) – Software suite for forecasting, planning, assortment, pricing, and replenishment decisions. Backed by Marlin Equity Partners. Acquired by Infor on June 2016.
Blue Ridge (2007, Atlanta, $6M) – Demand forecasting solutions to optimize, plan and manage inventory. Backed up Vocap Investment Partners.
Back Office – Workforce Management
Reflexis (2001, Dedham, $38M) – Provider of real-time store execution and workforce management solutions. Backed by Sageview Capital and Pequot Capital.
Theatro (2012, Dallas, $9M) – Solution for increasing workforce productivity. Backed by Khosla Ventures.
Back Office – Asset Recovery
Optoro (2008, Washington DC, $86.5M) – Asset recovery solutions for distressed inventory of retailers and manufacturers. Backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Revolution.
Back Office – Services – Staffing
Staffly (2014, SF, $1.96M) – On-demand staffing solution for retailers. Backed by ff Venture Capital.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
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