Simbe Robotics, an AI and robotics company, revealed Thursday a Series B equity financing round of $28 million, led by VC firm Eclipse. The funding will be used to implement AI and robotics solutions into retail operations.
Eclipe’s investment will enable Simbe to meet rising global customer demand, enter future product areas, expand its team, and continue delivering value to new and existing partners by optimizing both in-store and ecommerce operations, according to Simbe.
“We're honored to be supported by an investor like Eclipse, with a team that recognizes technology's incredible potential to significantly enhance retail operations, as well as greatly improve the customer experience,” said Brad Bogolea, CEO and co-founder of Simbe, in a statement. “Elevating the retail experience for everyone—retailers, their associates, and customers—through AI and robotics is the foundation of Simbe’s mission, and this funding will enable us to share this vision and reimagined experience with more retail partners around the world.”
Simbe’s business intelligence solution is powered by Tally, an autonomous in-store product auditing solution that travels down aisles to generate exact product location data and identify out-of-stock, misplaced, or mispriced products. The platform transforms retail operations through AI, computer vision, RFID, and edge computing technology that delivers greater visibility, more accurate data, and real-time insights, reports Simbe.
In 2023, Simbe developed new capabilities tailored to the warehouse club format to prepare Tally for chainwide deployment across BJ’s Wholesale Club locations. In addition to partnering with BJ’s Wholesale, Simbe has signed new agreements and expansions with retailers such as Schnuck Markets, SpartanNash, Wakefern, and Carrefour.
“As today’s retailers grapple with inaccurate shelf data and antiquated inventory management processes, Simbe is completely revolutionizing the industry through AI and robotics—proving to be an invaluable solution that curbs these obstacles,” said Jay Knafel, partner at Eclipse, in a statement. “When we saw Simbe’s solution deployed across the country, in a range of store environments, and performing fully autonomously, we were impressed.”
This latest round of funding follows a successful Series A in 2019, bringing the total amount raised by Simbe to $54 million.
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Image: Tally