Shopic, a startup that offers an AI-enabled clip-on device that attaches to regular shopping carts, has announced that Qualcomm Ventures has made a $35 million Series B investment, bringing total funding to $56 million.
Through computer vision algorithms, the device can identify goods placed in the cart while displaying promotions and discounts on related items. At checkout time, the system serves as a self-checkout interface allowing the customers to pay directly without having to line up at a kiosk.
The investment will be used to expand market penetration globally. Already implemented in locations in Europe, the Americas, and Israel, the company aims to sell the devices top U.S. grocery chains.
According to the company, live deployments of its system have shown to increase shoppers’ monthly spending by eight percent.
“Today’s consumers are used to friction-free online shopping experiences, but retailers struggle to deliver them for in-store shoppers,” Shopic CEO and co-founder Raz Golan said in a statement. “As the only solution that uses full computer vision rather than barcode scanning, Shopic empowers retailers to not only meet customer expectations but to delight them.”
Shopic intends to work not only to streamline the retail experience for shoppers but also to give grocers more information about their processes, including, inventory management and customer behavior insights, aisle heatmaps, promotion monitoring, and product adoption statistics.
“We support Shopic’s vision of hybrid retail, where the best of online shopping and physical store experiences merge,” Merav Weinrybr, VP of Qualcomm Israel and managing director of Qualcomm Israel and Europe said in a statement.” Shopic’s smart cart, which is a compelling and pragmatic smart retail solution is helping enable this future. We were very impressed with the performance of Shopic’s cart in live supermarkets, demonstrating the potential of AI to transform everyday experiences for everyone.”
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