Intouch scans for €7m funding to develop its international growth

INTOUCH.COM, a retail software development company, is seeking to raise €7m in a Series A funding round led by a venture capital firm from the United Arab Emirates.

The company, which has been backed by Enterprise Ireland, expects to complete the funding round in the first quarter of 2020.

The funding round values the business, which has offices in Dublin and El Gouna, Egypt, at €28m.

Sameh Abdalla, chief executive, said he could not share details of the Dubai-based venture capital firm. He said Intouch’s artificial intelligence retail solutions had gained significant traction. The former UCD professor, who co-founded the firm in 2015 with Tim Arits, hopes the funding will help to fuel the company’s international growth, and triple the size of Intouch’s team, which currently stands at 18 people.

The company recently secured several “significant” deals in Ireland, the Middle East, North America and Europe.

Intouch recently signed a partnership deal with Microsoft, which will mean the US multinational can sell its software to its retail clients.

Last week, Intouch also announced a deal with forecourt operator Circle K, which will see the company install self-service kiosks and pilot its real-time advertising to consumers across 30 sites. The technology utilises artificial intelligence to target adverts at consumers based on shopping trends.

Intouch agreed a partnership with Dutch self-scanning software developer Re-Vision and is to provide software to Saudi Arabian retailer Tamimi Markets.

In 2018, Intouch raised nearly €600,000 as part of a plan to expand beyond Ireland. The startup’s backers include Vincent Nolan, a former IT head at Applegreen and Musgrave; Liam Davis, the former chief financial officer at Brite:Bill; and Egyptian investment firm A15.