Including Hightouch, Instant, and Firsthand: ten retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up ten retail systems ventures who have recently secured significant investments in their businesses, including a composable CDP and AI decisioning platform, an AI driven platform that aims to get people back into physical stores by connecting local inventory to the web, and a real-time speech understanding platform specialist.

1. Hightouch

Hightouch, a composable CDP and AI decisioning platform, has raised an $80 million Series C investment round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. This was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from NVC, Amplify Ventures, ICONIQ Growth, and Bain Capital Ventures. Sapphire Ventures Partner Rajeev Dham will join the Hightouch board.

The investment will help drive adoption of the company’s AI Decisioning product which lets marketers identify a business goal and then lets AI agents deliver the one to one experience that will achieve it. AI Decisioning and Hightouch’s composable CDP product have brought in enterprise customers like PetSmart, Spotify, and Accor Hotels.

“We’ve talked about 1:1 personalisation for years, but it’s not possible with the way marketers work today. Everything is too slow, too manual, and usually results in customers receiving a blizzard of irrelevant communications,” says Tejas Manohar, Co-founder and Co-CEO at Hightouch.

“Our vision is to use AI to help marketers break free of manual work. Instead of building rigid calendars and static journeys that are inherently impersonal, marketers can simply enter goals like ‘drive repeat purchases and subscriptions’ and let AI agents decide what to do next at a 1:1 level. It’s a reimagining of the job of being a marketer.”  

2. FullEnrich

FullEnrich has bagged $2 million in its first seed funding round, led by Flex Capital, M-Fund, Kima Ventures, First Degree, Offord Ventures, Duro Ventures. 

Founded in January 2024, and headquartered in San Francisco, FullEnrich says that it reached a seven figure ARR while fully bootstrapped, and serves customers including Mastercard, DocuSign, and Brevo.

It will deploy the new capital to accelerate growth in key markets worldwide, including the US, Europe, Australia, Latin America, and Israel. The funding will also go toward product development and key senior talent acquisitions.

Benjamin Douablin, FullEnrich CEO, comments: “Today, most data enrichment providers are limited to specific regions or industries. FullEnrich is a transformative option, because it aggregates global sources, giving businesses access to the best data enrichment worldwide. With unmatched coverage, quality, and ease of use, FullEnrich empowers sales teams all around the world to prospect with confidence - making choosing a data provider a no brainer.”

3. NearSt

Bright Minds Capital Partners has made an undisclosed investment in NearSt, an AI driven platform that aims to get people back into physical stores by connecting local inventory to the web.

"We invest in companies that set trends," says David Holme, Founder and Executive Chairman. "NearSt is transforming the visibility of local businesses, ensuring they thrive in the digital age. Their Al driven approach aligns perfectly with our vision of technology as a force for real-world impact."

Nick Brackenbury, CEO at NearSt, adds: “The future of commerce is local, and bridging the physical and digital worlds of retail is key to unlocking its full potential. Bright Minds Capital Partners shares our vision for empowering retailers through technology, and their investment will accelerate our ability to expand our platform and bring our local inventory feed technology to more customers and businesses worldwide."

4. Relay

Relay, which was founded in 2022 and focuses on the backbone of e-commerce delivery for retailers, has announced a $35 million Series A round led by Plural.

The round also includes continued participation from its seed investors, Project A and Prologis Ventures, the VC arm of logistics real estate firm Prologis. The new capital will be used to scale Relay's UK wide delivery network and to continue building its engineering and operational team.

Relay’s AI powered platform enables a decentralised delivery model using hyperlocal nodes, moving away from the  “hub and spoke” model used by incumbents. By significantly reducing shipping distances, consolidating deliveries, and automating key workflows, Relay says that it drastically cuts operating expenses for itself and its merchants.

This model has attracted re-commerce platforms like Vinted, social commerce businesses like TikTok, international marketplaces including Temu, and UK retailers such as THG Fulfil.

5. Sanas

Sanas, a real-time speech understanding platform specialist whose customers include UPS and DoorDash, has announced a $65 million Series B funding round.

Quadrille Capital led the round with participation from existing backers including Insight Partners, Quiet Capital, and DN Capital. Digital services provider, Teleperformance (TP), also invested in the company. It brings Sanas north of $100 million in total funding to date.

"Sanas is leveraging AI to revolutionise global communication with its groundbreaking real-time accent translation technology,” says Amine Baji, Vice President at Quadrille Capital. “We have been particularly impressed by Sanas’ user-friendly interface, strong customer reputation, and outstanding growth trajectory."

6. Springboards

Springboards has officially launched, unveiling an AI platform purpose built for creative professionals in the advertising industry to help them explore more ideas faster, and uncover new inspiration.

Co-founded in Australia by former agency strategists Pip Bingemann and Amy Tucker, Springboards has garnered the support of over 120 agencies worldwide, including Cummins & Partners, Jellyfish, BMF, TRG, SAMY, and Cutwater. It is backed by $5 million in seed funding from Blackbird Ventures.

“Creativity in advertising is under siege,” says Tucker. “Shrinking margins, skyrocketing pitching costs, and ever-higher client expectations are threatening the craft. We built Springboards to help creatives do what they do best: think big, explore boldly, and stay original.”

“We designed Springboards to be a partner, not a replacement,” says Pip Bingemann, Co-founder at Springboards. “AI shouldn’t rob the industry of its soul - it should expand its creative horizons. With our platform, agencies can explore more possibilities, break conventions, and push the ceiling of creativity, ensuring the work isn’t just faster, but more daring, original, and inspired.”

"Springboards is a game-changer,” says Tim Collier, National Head of Strategy at Cummins & Partners. “It helps teams focus on the most interesting and challenging part of our jobs - finding original ideas that connect deeply with people. It’s not about devaluing creativity; it’s about enhancing it.”

7. UrbanFox

UrbanFox, which taps AI to stop online payment fraud, has closed an $8 million Series A round led by IAG Capital Partners.

“This milestone marks a major step forward in our journey to help make buying and selling online safer for consumers and businesses,” says Daniel Loftus, Founder and CEO at UrbanFox.

“Thanks to our investors and advisors, but most importantly thank you to the UrbanFox team for the incredible work over the last year. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey - this is just the beginning.”

8. Instant

Instant is basking in the glow of a $18 million Series A, led by Hummingbird Ventures.

"The round came together in just ten days, with Akshay Mehra (Tech Investor at Hummingbird Ventures) making the trip from London to Sydney to sign the term sheet. Incredible to have such a fund onboard," says Liam Millward, Co-founder and CEO at Instant.

"Huge thanks to our existing investors for their support from the very start of our journey (Blackbird, TEN13, and Reinventure Group, all tripling down again."

Instant’s products aim to increase a brand's online revenue by helping them convert more of their lost shoppers.

Millward adds: "Our growth has exploded over the past year, and this fundraise helps us now double down further on our push into North America, and additionally further expand our product suite to be the all-in-one retention marketing platform for e-commerce brands globally."

9. Swap

Swap, an operating system that connects operations on one platform for e-commerce brands, reports a $40 million Series B led by ICONIQ Growth, with participation from prior lead investors Cherry Ventures, QED Investors, and 9900 Capital.

The capital will allow Swap to grow its team and launch products.

“From the beginning, we’ve set out to create a new category that is a platform level solution across all of a brand’s operations,” says Sam Atkinson, Co-Founder and CEO at Swap. “This funding cements us as the only e-commerce operating system that can enable inventory solutions, cross-border growth, returns management, and shipping and logistics in a way genuinely tailored to a brand’s needs.”

“We have been impressed by Swap’s product focus and velocity,” says Seth Pierrepont, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth. “As cross-border commerce becomes increasingly complex, we have seen Swap emerge as a valuable partner for direct-to-consumer brands by unifying fragmented global e-commerce operations into a cohesive platform. We believe the company is well positioned to be a leading software enabler of global e-commerce and are excited to support them on this journey.”

10. Firsthand

Firsthand has secured $26 million in Series A funding.

The round was led by Radical Ventures, a return investor, with participation from FirstMark Capital, Aperiam Ventures, Michael Ovitz's Crossbeam Venture Partners, and angel investors including David Rosenblatt, Brian O’Kelley, and Bob Lord. The cash will support product expansion and team growth.

“Unlike traditional AI tools focused on workflow efficiency or optimising existing marketing channels, Firsthand shifts AI’s role from back-end support to front-line consumer interaction,” says Jonathan Heller, Co-CEO and Founder at Firsthand.

“We’ve invented something completely new to transform how marketers and publishers engage with consumers. Our Brand Agents are the first AI powered brand representatives that can truly engage consumers in moments of curiosity or intent, learn dynamically, and deliver real-time, adaptive and experiences that respond to those consumers based on their interests and behaviour, everywhere.”

"Firsthand turns AI into a direct channel, dismantling big tech’s gatekeeper role and empowering brands to own customer relationships,” says David Katz, Partner at Radical Ventures, an AI focused VC firm.

"With full control over their data and knowledge, Firsthand's AI Brand Agents act as real-time extensions of expertise, meeting consumers in moments that matter. This isn’t just innovation leveraging AI - it’s marketing reimagined for the AI era, and Radical is excited to double down on our conviction in Firsthand.”