Rapid delivery and immersive experiences: Five retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up the retail systems ventures who have recently wrapped notable funding rounds, including Situ Live, Rosetta AI, and JOKR.

1. Rosetta AI

Taiwanese startup, Rosetta AI, which specialises in fashion and beauty e-commerce personalisation, has announced the closing of its pre-A plus round for $2.4 million from the 500 Global Flagship Fund, for a total of $4.6 million raised to date.

The company’s solutions are at work in over 2,500 retail stores across Asia and drive a gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $3.5 million. Annual recurring revenue s $3.4 million with a 200% growth rate.

The new funding will be used to boost Rosetta AI’s products, and to expand into the US and EMEA.

2. Situ Live

Private equity house, IW Capital, has invested £1 million in immersive shopping platform, Situ Live.

Situ Live combines physical venues and a digital platform allowing brands to showcase their products and providing consumers with the ability to interact and experience the products first hand.

The firm then collects traffic and purchases intent data for brands whilst facilitating the direct connection between consumers and brands.

After Situ Live opened its first physical store in London Westfield, White City, in October 2021, it received widespread industry recognition for its approach to retail marketing, including winning the Editor’s Choice Award at the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards.

It works with the likes of Bosch, Intel, Meta, Phillips and Lutron.

3. Triple Whale

US-based startup, Triple Whale, has raised a $25 million Series B round from NFX and Elephant, with participation from Shopify.

This builds on a 2022 $24 million Series A round (led by Elephant) and a $2.7 million seed round (led by NFX).

Triple Whale's analytics platform equips Shopify brands with an all in one tool to help them locate key metrics and derive instant insights into the performance of their advertising campaigns.

It integrates merchants' data from Shopify, Facebook, Google, TikTok, and other popular apps.

4. JOKR

Rapid grocery delivery company JOKR has raised $50 million in a Series C investment on a $1.3 billion post-money valuation.

This follows a $260 million raise announced in November 2021.

G Squared lead the Series C round, with GGV Capital, Tiger Global Management and HV Capital participating.

In total, JOKR, which was founded in 2021, has to date raised $480 million in equity and debt.

Last year, the venture said it was shuttering its New York and Boston businesses and leaving the US market altogether, with the focus now being on Latin America.

The announcement did not surprise Brittain Ladd, a former Amazon exec and supply chain consultant.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I recommended to JOKR to sell their operations in the US, and instead focus on Latin America and Mexico.”

“They contacted me to say that they were "disappointed" by my suggestion and that I "didn't understand their strategy." Actually, I understood their business and the reality of the rapid grocery delivery industry better than their senior executives did.”

JOKR’s latest fundraising comes at a critical time for rapid delivery startups.

Several have suffered from post-Covid hangovers, with funding stagnating and the cost-of-living crisis escalating.

5. Foudys

A venture capital firm focused on supporting direct to consumer (DTC) entrepreneurs, Fearless Adventures, has invested a six figure sum in women’s football e-commerce business, Foudys.

The company specialises in official women’s football merchandise. It prints official, authentic club football jerseys and fan apparel for Women’s Football League (WSL) teams including Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as the Champions League.

Foudys has the WSL printing rights for the UK and Europe and has recently signed deals with Nike and Puma.

Fearless Adventures will inject cash, support fulfilment and provide growth marketing expertise to help scale Foudys internationally, to tap the women’s sports apparel opportunity.

Helen Hardy, Founder of Foudys, comments: “I’m so excited to work with Fearless Adventures. They’re entrepreneurs who have been on fast growth journeys, and their experience and expertise are hugely valuable.”

“For me, this journey is about so much more than launching a successful e-commerce business, it’s about growing women’s football by increasing brand awareness and spotlighting products that focus solely on the women’s game.”

“Unlike other investors, the Fearless Adventures team understands my motivations offering a tailored approach that will help take Foudys to the next level.”

Rachel McDonald, Managing Director, Fearless Adventures, adds: "We are looking forward to supporting Helen and Foudys on its growth mission.”

“We truly believe that Foudys will be the standout disruptor in women’s football with customers searching for something other than the male centric retail platforms.”