CoolR Group raises $10 million for automated ordering platform

CoolR Group, a US-based specialist in automated ordering for brands using AI-based image recognition, has announced a $10 million round led by long-term VC investor First Analysis.

Moneta Ventures and Remarkable Ventures also participated. The company will use the capital to drive growth and invest in R&D.

Its platform, Playbook, uses cameras along with third party apps and devices to collect images in real-time from shelves, then translates those pictures into prioritised actions, allowing brands to deploy their people and resources to the most immediate and beneficial issues.

"Brands need to know what is happening on their shelves, it's never been more vital to their business," says Roy Mehta, CEO at CoolR Group.

"Playbook offers that advantage, and it has translated into both a major jump in sales and decrease in operational costs for our customers. Our customers have told us this will be the most impactful change they make to their operations in the next 10 to 20 years."

CoolR says that it has created over one million intelligent replenishment tasks and store visits for its customers who include some of the largest soda, ice cream, beer, and pet food companies in the world.

"With CoolR's cameras in their in-store refrigerators and freezers, CoolR's brand and distributor customers can automatically ensure their goods are cost-effectively stocked when and where needed, yielding paybacks in as short as a few months – a rare feat in IoT," says First Analysis Senior Vice President David Gearhart.

"We look forward to helping CoolR scale further and unlock its full potential."