Including Vypr, Flagship, and Markmi: seven retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up seven retail systems ventures who have recently secured significant investments in their businesses, including an automated, AI driven CRM solution for hospitality businesses, a digital visual merchandising platform, and a PSD2 and FCA approved decentralised payments specialist.

1. Embargo

Hospitality tech business Embargo has been awarded a UK Smart Grant by the UK government to develop an AI model for its CRM and loyalty platform.

Embargo is used by nearly 2,500 food and drinks SMEs. Founded by Fryderyk Szydlowski and Tsewang Wangkang, it allows restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries to reward regulars, capture data, communicate with their customers and offer direct ordering for delivery and pickup, while consumers use the firm's app as a digital wallet for paperless loyalty cards offered by hospitality brands.

Szydlowski says: “We are about to reach half a million app transactions monthly, which is a great testimonial to the work we put it in to make our solution easy to use and absolutely best in class for both businesses and their customers.”

The £350,000 Smart Grant will allow it to build a fully automated, AI driven CRM platform for hospitality businesses. By capturing and analysing a range of customer data - cross referencing what they purchase and how often against the time of day, day of the week, weather and more - the model will help businesses enhance their marketing, pricing, loyalty and communication strategies.

2. Flagship

Flagship, creator of a digital visual merchandising platform, has announced its expansion into the US market with an unnamed performance apparel brand, in addition to several retail partnerships, including Mejuri, and Mad Happy.

The company also recently closed a $3.75 million seed funding round led by Coreline and Veridical Ventures, with participation from Tidal Ventures and Macdoch Ventures.

"Visual merchandising has historically relied on manual processes and instinct," says Simon Molnar, Founder and CEO at Flagship. "Our platform brings data driven decision-making to store optimisation, allowing retailers to maximise revenue while maintaining the creative elements that define physical retail."

Flagship's platform connects store design with precise data analysis, creating digital twins of each store location that enable retailers to optimise product placement while providing automated revenue mapping.

“As a global jewelry brand on a mission to redefine luxury at every touchpoint, Mejuri has partnered with Flagship to implement a technology first approach across our 40+ stores,” says Kari Beiswanger, Senior Product Manager at Mejuri.

“This collaboration empowers data driven decision-making and optimisation, while championing global best practices in visual merchandising. With Flagship’s expertise, we are elevating the in-store experience and driving efficiency and consistency as we scale."

3. RECO

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, has announced an investment in RECO, a company offering end-to-end solutions for food waste management in South Korea.

It is the lead investor in a KRW 58.5 billion (EUR 37 million) funding round.

“South Korea leads the way in advanced waste management systems, and RECO exemplifies how innovative solutions can tackle pressing challenges like food waste. Its commitment to transparency, resource recycling, and digital transformation aligns perfectly with Ingka’s vision for a circular economy,” says Lukas Visser, Head of Circular Investments at Ingka Group.

“By investing in RECO, we aim to amplify their impact while driving meaningful change beyond our own operations - contributing to a better world, ensuring sustainable practices and a brighter future for all.”

4. Markmi

Fashion tech startup Markmi has raised €1.1 million in seed funding to accelerate the roll-out of its AI driven markdown assistant across Belgium, the Netherlands, the Nordics, and the US later this year.

"Markdowns are one of the biggest cost lines in a fashion retailer's P&L," says Markus Krenn, VP & Head of Commercial Planning Europe at C&A. "Markmi has significantly reduced this cost for us."

The round includes backing from fashion and tech investors such as Wolf (Luc Van Mol, ex-ZEB), the Torfs family, and tech veterans Lorenz Bogaert, Matthias Geeroms, Jan Teerlinck, Roeland Delrue, Jonas Deprez, and PMV.

Markmi says that it plans to evolve into a full AI powered pricing platform for fashion retail, expanding into areas like full price optimisation and promo management.

5. Vypr

Product intelligence platform, Vypr, has secured new funding to accelerate expansion into international markets and adjacent sectors while continuing to develop its consumer insights technology.

The raise includes £4 million from YFM Equity Partners and £1 million from other investors and management. It brings Vypr’s funding to date to £13.4 million with YFM’s total investment standing at £9.5 million .

Vypr, headquartered in Manchester, has developed a platform that helps global brands to rapidly understand changing consumer behaviour through insight, underpinned by behavioural science. This aids them in bringing new products to market or improving their current ranges. Customers include retailers like Aldi, Asda, and M&S, and food and drink brands and manufacturers including Brewdog, Kraft Heinz, and Red Bull.

Others involved in the investment round include Vypr Chairman and former CEO of UK tech plc GBG, Richard Law. Existing Vypr shareholders include veteran Manchester venture capitalist, Richard Young, and founder of UK food producer 2 Sisters Food Group, Ranjit Singh Boparan.

In the past year, Vypr has announced its expansion to provide consumer insight in international markets including Australia, the United States and major European countries. The investment will also fund new AI driven features.

6. Ryft

Ryft, a PSD2 and FCA approved decentralised payments specialist, reports a £5.7 million Series A round to fund the development of technology that, it says, will enable acquiring banks, like Clearhaus, to compete with Stripe Connect, Adyen, and similar payment providers in the market.

The round was led by EdenBase, with participation from GPOS Investments, British Business Bank, Pembroke VCT, Sidebyside, and Ingenii VC. It was also joined by strategic angel investors, including executives at PayPal.

Ryft was founded by Sadra Hosseini and Alex Mackenzie, whose digital platform, Butlr, was acquired by OrderPay in 2021. While building Butlr, they experienced highly limited options for compliant payment solutions that support marketplace and platform transaction flows.

Ryft gives acquiring banks the technology needed to automatically split payments and process payouts at, the company claims, a much lower cost than solutions offered by Stripe Connect or Adyen. It also provides marketplaces and platforms with the ability to hold funds until specific conditions are met through a delayed payments feature, facilitated by an escrow license. 

Hosseini says: “Acquiring banks and most businesses were built for the one-to-one transactions of Commerce 1.0. However, in the era of Commerce 2.0, where a single transaction within a marketplace involves numerous parties and processes, businesses are in a position where they have to deliver payment operations that meet the evolving needs of their customers.”

“Currently, the likes of Stripe Connect and Adyen dominate the payments ecosystem despite high fees, complicated integrations, poor support, and prolonged payment wait times. We have the technology that offers a collaborative and efficient alternative.”

7. PervasID

PervasID, a specialist in fixed passive RFID technology, has landed a £200,000 investment from Maven Cognition.

The funding will accelerate the global roll-out of its TrackMaster solution, with a particular focus on US markets.

Peter Oram, CEO at PervasID, which was founded in 2011, says: “The growth we’ve experienced in recent years is a testament to our market leading innovation. Our 2024 investment round, which secured over £3 million, is already taking the business to the next level as we continue with the global roll-out of TrackMaster. We’ll be using this latest investment to continue our growth plans and to maximise the opportunities in the UK and US where we are seeing fast paced adoption of TrackMaster.”