Seven retail technology funding rounds you need to know about, including Connectd and Powered by People
RTIH rounds up the retail systems ventures who have recently wrapped notable funding rounds, including Ocula Technologies, Yoti, Patchworks, and APEXX Global.
1. Ocula Technologies
Ocula Technologies has received new investment from Lloyds Banking Group and its FinTech Investment Team.
The SaaS startup aims to let retailers harness the power of AI to enable data driven decisions and quickly optimise its platform.
It says that it wants to give retailers without in-house data science teams, the ability to access the benefits of AI and not get left behind by the likes of Amazon and Alibaba.
Lloyds Banking Group’s investment is in the form of new equity capital and completes a funding round previously announced in November 2022.
Less than two years since its formation it values Ocula on a post new money basis at £10 million.
The company has worked with retailers such as Hornby Hobbies and AO World.
2. Bookshop.org
Bookshop.org, an online venture that aims to support independent bookshops, has completed a $1.8 million (£1.5 million) angel fundraising round, which will be used to add audiobooks and eBooks to its UK platform.
UK bookshops will be able to keep the full profit margin of any such products they sell, while all other sales will generate 10% for the profit pool, which is shared equally among all participants.
The scheme will allow the over 550 independent booksellers on the platform to add eBooks and audiobooks to their websites and their Bookshop.org affiliate pages, while customers who want to support local, independent bookshops will have a single home where all their online book purchases can live.
Booshop.org is planning to launch a private beta version of the service in late 2023, followed by a full launch in 2024.
3. APEXX Global
APEXX Global, a global payments orchestration platform, has raised $25 million from existing and new investors, closing a Series B round. The funds will be used to develop its products and technology and to expand its presence in North America.
APEXX, whose customers lnclude Ryanair, CarTrawler and Avon, raised the cash from investors across Europe, including MMC Ventures, who has backed the company since 2017, alongside Alliance Ventures and Forward Partners who increased their investments after participating in the previous round.
MMC Ventures’ Chairman and Co-Founder Alan Morgan will also take a seat on APEXX’s board.
4. Patchworks
E-commerce integration provider, Patchworks, has received a further £4 million in funding from Gresham House Ventures.
This follows investments totalling £4.8 million over the past two years, bringing the total investment to £8.8 million since the firm’s first round in August 2021.
Patchworks is investing the cash on enhancing its low code/no code self-serve integration platform, completion of its microservice, API first, cloud native roadmap and further improvements within the professional services and support teams.
It says that these changes will consolidate it as “the best choice for integrating e-commerce platforms such as Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, commercetools, Shopify or WooCommerce with platforms like Oracle NetSuite, Linnworks, Sage Brightpearl, Microsoft Dynamics 365, PeopleVox, and Lightspeed to name a few.”
5. Yoti
Lloyds Banking Group has invested £10 million in digital identity company Yoti.
Yoti offers digital identity solutions that aim to make it simple for people and businesses to protect themselves online.
This includes a free Digital ID app, which gives individuals a way to prove their identity from their phone, with no need to show ID documents or share an excessive amount of personal data.
The investment from Lloyds Banking Group will support Yoti’s development of a new reusable digital identity proposition that will complement its existing solutions and is set to launch later this year.
6. Powered by People
Digital wholesale platform, Powered By People (PBP), has secured $8 million in Series A equity funding.
The company will use the funds to continue scaling its global operations and technology.
PBP provides small-batch, independent maker brands from over 70 countries with technology solutions that enable them to sell their sustainably made goods at scale to retail and trade buyers.
Customers range from independent boutiques across major markets, to large retailers such as West Elm, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, and The Citizenry.
The equity round was led by Altos Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Golden Ventures and Susa Ventures.
7. Connectd
Connectd, a platform for managing and growing relationships between startups, investors and advisors, has bagged $2.6 million in seed funding.
The new funds will support its expansions around data, corporate enterprise, customer support, and the development of new tools and features for its community to harness connections.
Roei Samuel, Founder and CEO, says: “Connectd has become a leading platform for the startup ecosystem to build meaningful connections, bringing together founders, investors and advisors.”
“We’ve continued to curate a carefully vetted, high quality community who benefit from our tools and range of exclusive features which all help to scale startups.”
“In the current economic environment, we are ncredibly well positioned to help founders to provide transparency and bridge the gap between their business and their investors, with tools that help manage relationships and monitor and report performance.”
“Creating a commitment to provide regular, high quality and transparent updates to investors is one of the biggest indicators of startup success, and Connectd is uniquely providing the methodology and tools to compute the most important data points that help founders relay information and metrics in a meaningful and frictionless way.”
The seed round brings Connectd’s total funding to $5.6 million.
It was supported by institutional investors LiFE Ventures, Blue Lake, Mail Venture Partners, Arch Law and Syndicate Room, as well as new angel investors including former McKinsey & Co’s head of financial services, Alan Morgan; Twyn founder, Tim Levy; Monster Energy Drink’s President of EMEA, Guy Carling; and UKAT founder, Daniel Gerrard.
A spokesperson for LiFE Ventures comments: “Connectd has quickly become an invaluable resource for the growing startup ecosystem and is perfectly poised to scale its operations.”
“It has already proven a strong ability to develop and successfully roll out market leading online tools, which is helping it to attract, serve and grow a loyal community. The future for Connectd looks incredibly bright and we’re delighted to be a part of the journey.”
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