Ten retail tech funding rounds you need to know about
RTIH rounds up the retail technology ventures who have been making waves with major investments.
1. Refraction AI
US-based robot delivery company Refraction AI has landed $4.2 million in new seed funding.
The round was led by Pillar VC, with other participants including eLab Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, Trucks Venture Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Chad Laurans (founder of SimpliSafe), Invest Michigan.
The startup has to date raised over $10 million in total.
2. Stripe
Online payments provider Stripe has raised $600 million at a $95 billion valuation.
This cements its position as the most valuable US unicorn, moving it ahead of SpaceX.
Primary investors included Allianz X, Axa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Sequoia Capital, and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
3. SumUp
SumUp has raised a €750 million facility from Goldman Sachs, Temasek, Bain Capital Credit, Crestline, and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
The company helps businesses take card payments.
It will use the cash for M&A, international expansion and to grow its employee count across its 19 international offices.
4. Nimble Robotics
E-commerce fulfilment technology company, Nimble Robotics, has announced a $50 million Series A round.
This was led by DNS Capital and GSR Ventures with participation from Accel and Reinvent Capital among others.
The capital raised will accelerate the venture’s hiring plans, product and technology development and scaling of robot deployments for its customers’ fulfilment operations.
5. Heyday AI
Conversational commerce tech venture Heyday AI has extended its seed round by $6.5 million CAD ($5.1 million USD).
This was led by returning investors Innovobot and Desjardins Capital. The startup has raised approximately $8.5 million CAD to date.
Heyday has also been selected by Lacoste as its global chat and customer messaging provider. Other clients include Decathlon and Bestseller (Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Bestseller).
6. Stor.ai
Stor.ai, which has developed a digital commerce solution for grocers, has raised $21 million in an extended Series A round led by Meitav Dash and Mizrahi Tefahot, and supported by existing backer Kli Capital and individuals including Mayer Gniwisch.
The venture, formerly known as Self Point, will use the capital to integrate new features into its core offering, accelerate growth in North America, and enter into new markets in Latin America and Europe.
Stor.ai provides grocers with such tools as an e-commerce solution integrated with their PoS systems, and Picker-App, which customises and maps in-store fulfilment.
7. Dija
Online grocery delivery startup Dija has launched with a $20 million seed investment from Creandum, Blossom Capital and Index Ventures.
The company is rolling out its services in the London districts of South Kensington, Fulham and Hackney. It will use the funds to expand across London and eventually other cities in the UK.
8. Grubtech
Grubtech, an SaaS platform for cloud kitchens and delivery focused restaurants, has secured $3.4 million pre–Series A funding.
9. 3DLOOK
3DLOOK has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding, led by Almaz Capital with participation from TMT Investments and Zubr Capital.
