Including Nextail, Brightpick, and Miros: 12 retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up 12 retail systems ventures who have recently secured significant investments in their businesses, including AI powered ERP automation platforms for wholesale distributors, technology for footfall analysis and visitor insights, and plug and play checkout solutions for online retailers.

1. Plato

Plato, a Berlin-based AI powered ERP automation platform for wholesale distributors, has announced the closing of a $6.5 million pre-seed funding round.

This was led by Cherry Ventures, with additional backing from the German government and C-level angels from Microsoft, SAP, NVIDIA, Celonis, Personio, Sennder, and Forto.

Plato says that it is well positioned to lead the AI transformation of the $53 trillion global wholesale industry.

Its platform integrates with existing ERP systems, offering two core functionalities, sales intelligence and workflow automation.

“Plato is the all in one platform where distribution sellers thrive,” says CEO Benedikt Nolte.

“We embed AI into daily workflows, turning reactive sales teams into proactive, data driven sellers. Our solution transforms how distributors engage with their data and automate their processes, unlocking new levels of profitability for our clients.”

2. Miros

Miros, a visual AI e-commerce search solution, has raised a €6 million pre-Series A investment led by EBRD Venture Capital and Tera Ventures.

Former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves also participated as an angel investor. Miros will use the funding to enhance R&D, further develop the technology, and expand market reach. To date, the company has raised €8 million.

Using visual AI technology, Miros can predict online shoppers’ intent, enabling users to find what they are looking for faster than traditional  search. 

It understands the context of products from the product images, even when product metadata is insufficient. Its AI recognises shopping patterns and mirrors users' wishes to help them find the intended item in 60 seconds or less.

3. Acai Travel 

Acai Travel has raised a $4 million seed round led by Nauta, with participation from DraperB1 and existing investor One Travel Ventures.

The cash will help the startup expand its mission to build an AI powered operating system for travel operations, providing an all in one solution to double agent efficiency, optimise travel call centres, and enhance the traveler experience.

The platform supports a client base across all travel segments, featuring the likes of Kiwi.com, lastminute.com, World Travel, and Goway.

4. Nextail

Nextail, an AI driven merchandise planning and execution platform for fashion retailers, has turned ten,  and also announced a leadership change and a multi-million euro cash injection from existing investors.

Effective immediately, Carlos Miragall, Co-Founder of Nextail, steps into the role of CEO. Joaquín Villalba, Co-Founder and former CEO, will remain on the board.

Miragall says: “I am thrilled to re-join the leadership team as CEO at such a pivotal moment in Nextail’s journey. The commitment to additional investment from our current investors reinforces their confidence in our mission, and I am excited to drive our company forward with innovation, ambition, and a renewed focus.”

“Together with our talented team, we are ready to achieve new milestones and deliver even greater value to our partners."

5. Brightpick

Brightpick has raised an additional $12 million to accelerate its roll-out in the US.

This brings its total funding to $47 million, with $35 million invested by Photoneo since Brightpick spun out in 2021.

The round saw participation from new investor EBRD Venture Capital alongside continued support from existing backers like ESET founder Miroslav Trnka and Avast founders Eduard Kucera and Pavel Baudis.

Brightpick says: “With a growing team of over 200 employees and 300 AI robots already deployed for customers, we are gaining strong traction, especially in the US, which will contribute 50% of our revenue this year.”

6. Salesfire

Salesfire - a UK company whose platform helps e-commerce stores to increase sales - has raised a further £2.75 million from NPIF II - Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).

The funding will enable the company to incorporate its latest AI powered technology into its platform and create over ten new jobs in the next two years.

Salesfire’s software creates a comprehensive profile of every individual visiting a company’s website, and uses behavioural cues to understand their interests and shopping behaviour. It enables retailers to personalise the customer experience, guide shoppers through the buying funnel to improve conversion rates, then re-engage with them and build a one-to-one relationship.

The Middlesbrough-based company is developing new AI technology that will give deeper insights into customer behaviour, such as recognising anonymous individuals with different user accounts, and will be particularly valuable once existing tracking tools such as cookies are phased out.

7. Bounce

Bounce, a global luggage storage network and US travel company, has announced a $19 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Sapphire Sport and included other new investors such as Thayer Ventures, FJ Labs, 20VC Growth, and Shilling, as well as existing backers Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst. 

Bounce will use the cash to drive growth and expand its storage services to travellers and locals, including in the UK where it has more than 670 partners, including London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Cardiff.

Launched in 2019, it powers a storage network of more than 13,000 partners in 100 countries. Named the eighth fastest growing private company in the US by Inc5000 earlier this year, it has stored over six million bags to date, and says that it has generated tens of millions of dollars for small business partners since its Series A in 2022.

8. Sitoo

Swedish firm Sitoo, a provider of cloud native PoS and unified commerce platform solutions, has announced a €26 million minority investment from Verdane.

This will help the company take advantage of what it calls a “massive opportunity” in the US and global markets while strengthening its foothold in the UK and European regions.

“We have seen Sitoo deliver on its growth ambitions with best-in-class execution by Jens Levin and the team since we first met in 2019. Back then they were a local Swedish player with big ambitions and has now become the clear market leader in the Nordics and we look forward to partner with the team to help build the business into a global category leader” says Pål Malmros, Partner at Verdane. 

9. Indivd

Swedish startup Indivd, which has developed technology for footfall analysis and visitor insights, has raised $1.4 million.

The investment comes from both existing owners and new investors within the retail sector, including Per Setterberg (Senior Advisor at EQT and former CEO of Global Blue) and Carl Setterberg (former CFO at H&M Tech).

The cash will be used to accelerate growth and prepare for a larger funding round next year.

"After nearly 20 years in retail, I know how challenging it is for stores to understand customer movement and in-store behaviours. Indivd has found a solution to this problem, something that was previously only possible online," says Setterberg.

"They are using AI in a smart and innovative way to solve a real issue. With their competent team, I'm convinced they can make a significant impact in the industry."

Indivd has been on the market for a year and has customers in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

10. Airbound

Drone technology startup, Airbound, has announced a $1.7 million seed round led by Lightspeed.

With its proprietary blended wing body tailsitter design, called TRT, the company aims to transform logistics, reducing delivery costs by two orders of magnitude compared to traditional options.

Historically, the drone delivery industry has faced challenges due to regulatory complexity and high per mile costs, which have prevented drones from becoming the default solution for last mile logistics. Airbound’s TRT design is pitched as the lightest, safest, and most economically viable delivery drone, reducing the cost of deliveries to just a few cents.

“We are proud to have developed not only an industry leading delivery drone, but also a highly efficient, scalable manufacturing process,” says Naman Pushp, Founder and CEO at Airbound.

“We scrutinised every vehicle system to reduce weight, enhance safety and reliability, and maximise efficiency. We developed new methods to manufacture carbon fibre, which allow us to reduce the weight of our Airframe from 6 pounds to 400 grams. Our goal isn’t just to build a great drone—we want to create a world where delivery is essentially free” 

11. Fresho

Fresho, an order management platform for fresh food wholesalers, has announced the close of a $17 million Series B funding round, bringing total investment to $50 million to date. 

The oversubscribed round welcomed both new and existing shareholders, led by Geoff Tarrant, Co-Founder and former Executive Chairman of Payapps, a construction software firm acquired by Autodesk for $600 million in 2024. Tarrant, who also served as director of ASX listed Adbri, will join Fresho's board of directors. 

Founded in 2015 by James Andronis, drawing on 15 years' experience running an Australian seafood wholesaler, and Huw Birrell, a technology entrepreneur with international finance expertise, Fresho’s platform recently celebrated processing its 30 millionth order since 2016, with ten million orders in the past year alone.

"We are pleased to have closed this round in a challenging fundraising environment. This speaks to the size of the opportunity, and to our record of consistent growth and capital management to date," says Andronis.

“Fresh food distribution has been traditionally slow to adopt technology, but a confluence of factors are causing this to change. These include margin pressures, skills shortages and questions of succession in family owned firms. As a result, we are seeing unprecedented interest in how technology can drive efficient operations, better customer service, and improved work/life balance for owners and managers." 

12. Zepto

Indian quick commerce firm Zepto has landed $350 million in new funding, its third round of financing in six months, ahead of a planned IPO next year.

This maintains its $5 billion valuation.

Motilal co-founder Raamdeo Agrawal, family offices of Mankind Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka, Cello, Haldiram’s, Sekhsaria, and Kalyan, as well as celebrities Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are among the backers in the new round, which is the largest fully domestic primary round in India.