UK retail technology startup Sticky raises £1.5m to help customers see physical space as an asset

Sticky, a UK startup which enables retailers to turn more of their physical space into Points of Sale, has secured £1.5 million to fund its expansion plans.

The venture, which counts the burger chain Byron among its clients, has attracted backing from new investors Praetura Ventures and Cornerstone VC.

The round also includes follow on funding from SFC Capital.

Sticky uses its own operating system with NFC technology to enable companies in sectors such as retail, hospitality and health and fitness to process payment transactions in less than 10 seconds.

Based in Manchester, the company was founded by Priscilla Israel and James Garner in 2020.

"We help our customers see their physical space as an asset and as a way to make more money," Israel told Sky News.

"The future of physical spaces is well debated but at Sticky there is no debate about their future or value - they are where we all live and work."

David Foreman, Managing Partner at Praetura Ventures, says: "Sticky has taken a visionary approach to the problem of unused retail space and online engagement in offline environments, and that is what attracted us to invest in the business."

More funding news

Last week, Everseen, a provider of AI powered computer vision and automation solutions, said it had raised a €65 million Series A follow on funding round led by Crosspoint Capital Partners.

The cash will be used to continue investment into the firm’s computer vision AI technology and help it scale.

Crosspoint made its original investment in Everseen in June 2021 based on the company’s “disruptive computer vision AI technology, strong customer relationships and its approach to ethical AI”.

It uses its Visual AI platform to provide the retail sector with end-to-end visibility across processes such as checkout, inventory management and supply chain.

“Crosspoint Capital has been a fantastic partner for the last two years, and we are excited to further our relationship as the Crosspoint team brings immense value in terms of operational excellence and sector expertise that will help us mature our business operations and deliver on our technology roadmap,” says Alan O’Herlihy, Everseen Founder and CEO.

“Our computer vision AI platform has scaled the automation of scene-based processes with impact – in use across 6,000 major retail stores and connecting 80,000 Point of Sale devices. We have created generic process aware technology that can be applied to a broad spectrum of business functions, leveraging our growing dataset.”

“The mainstream accessibility of AI and ML technology has emerged as one of the biggest trends over the last year and is being valued by the market,” says Greg Clark, Managing Partner at Crosspoint Capital.

“We believe computer vision AI represents significant value in transforming business processes moving forward, and Everseen has emerged as a clear leader in this space, providing immediate and measurable impact on the customer P&L.”

“There is a lot of hype on the impact and productivity gains of AI, and Everseen is a refreshing example of the business value of the AI revolution. We are excited to bring the power of Crosspoint to support its vision and help them scale into this significant market opportunity.”