Five retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up the retail systems ventures whose funding rounds have been making headlines of late, including Beekeeper, Yassir, and Antavo.

1. Vivrelle

Vivrelle, a membership club that offers rental access to designer handbags and accessories, has announced the close of a $35 million Series B financing round led by 3L Capital, with participation from Origin Ventures, Chapford Capital Group, Plus Capital, actresses, Lily Collins and Nina Dobrev, and entrepreneur Morgan Stewart McGraw. 

This builds on a $26 million Series A round from last year.

“This recent round of fundraising marks a milestone for Vivrelle we only dreamt about when launching in 2018,” says Blake Geffen, Co-founder and CEO, Vivrelle.

“We are ecstatic to have support from Lily Collins, Nina Dobrev and Morgan Stewart McGraw, alongside the capital partners who share in our vision of transforming how consumers utilise their closets and experience luxury.”

“We look forward to expanding Vivrelle on many fronts, including our inventory offerings, opening additional showroom spaces, and growing our hard working team.” 

2. Beekeeper

Beekeeper, which has developed a mobile first platform for deskless employees, has raised $50 million in Series C funding.

This brings the company’s total funding to date to more than $100 million.

New investors like EGS Beteiligungen and Kreos Capital joined the round alongside existing backers Energize, Thayer, SwissCanto, Keen Ventures, Alpana Ventures, Edenred Capital and Verve Capital.

Beekeeper plans to use the cash to grow and invest in product development.

“The disconnect between employers and their frontline employees is at an all time high, causing staff shortages and burnout that comes at a hefty economic price,” says Dr. Cristian Grossmann, Co-founder and CEO, Beekeeper.

“This round of investment validates our mission to tackle this disconnect and overcome the crippling status quo it creates.”

“Our mobile first, frontline success system connects workers to the people, processes and information they need to be productive, engaged, and safe at work. This new way of working gives our customers an unmatched competitive advantage during challenging times.”

3. Yassir

Yassir, an online marketplace offering on-demand services such as ride hailing, food and grocery delivery, and banking, has bagged $150 million in Series B funding.

The round was led by BOND, with participation from the likes of DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures (aka Spike Ventures) and Y Combinator.

Having raised $193.25 million in the five years since the company’s launch, Yassor now lays claim to being the most valuable startup in North Africa, and one of the highest valued companies in Africa and the Middle East.

“Yassir means ‘easy’ in Arabic, and our mission as a company is to make people’s lives easy,” says Noureddine Tayebi, Founder and CEO, Yassir.

“In the markets where we operate, we are already having a considerable impact on how people manage their day to day lives. We look forward to expanding our presence into other geographies to become the first super app to achieve mass adoption.”

4. Antavo

Enterprise loyalty cloud platform, Antavo, has closed a Series A round at €10 million led by Euroventures alongside Lead Ventures, iEurope and Innovation Nest and private investors including Zoltan Vardy.

The company, which in 2022 signed customers including BMW, KFC, Kathmandu and BrewDog, says the funding will enable the expansion of its global presence and further development of its no-code omnichannel loyalty technology.

5. Salesfire

UK-based SaaS platform Salesfire has secured a fundraise of £3.05 million as it looks to create 50 new jobs and target the US market.

This includes £2 million from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Salesfire was founded in 2017 by Rich Himsworth whose previous experience includes senior positions at a number of software and marketing businesses. The company now serves over 650 customers, including Moss Bros, Sports Shoes and Hamleys.

Himsworth says: “We’ve established a solid base of operations in the UK and we’re happy our funding partners also recognise how far we can take Salesfire and the products’ global appeal.”

“Marketers across the world are starting to look at new ways to flourish in a challenging retail environment and it's never been more important for online stores to make the most of their marketing spend.”