Trolley firm aims to get investors on board
AUCKLAND: Smarttrolley startup Imagr is seeking to raise $US25 million ($NZ35 million) through a private investor pool to expand the business internationally.
Founder and chief executive William Chomley said demand had soared for the firm's autonomous checkout system after the Covid19 pandemic.
This month, the company will begin its series A capital raise, seeking global investors to hold a stake.
The round will close in early May, and Mr Chomley said the business would ‘‘go out to targeted investors’’.
‘‘There is strong [investor] interest in this retail area. Some of our competitors have raised circa $100 million so there is certainly the potential that one party could take the lot or it could be split amongst a couple of parties around the world.’’
Imagr had already received interest from investors in the United States, Europe, Asia and the AsiaPacific region.
Early last year, Imagr raised $14 million. Freshly raised capital would be spent on hiring staff — the company had plans to double the size of its team — and setting up a base in Europe and expanding its Japanese presence.
‘‘We'll mainly be looking at [spending on] aspects of operationising the product itself, team growth, market expansion, additional sales activities, yes there is some aspects of manufacturing, but again we have distribution on top of that, and a little bit of support.’’
It would also further invest in research and development as it released the next version of hardware and software later in the quarter, Mr Chomley said.
Imagr planned to almost double its team of 58 staff by November next year, with seven to eight additional staff spread across its Osaka office and through the establishment of a Tokyo base, and five to 10 for a team in Europe.
The company had recently signed a deal with a ‘‘couple of customers in Europe’’, but Mr Chomley was unable to share details of the organisations.
Japanese retail chain H2O Retailing is Imagr's biggest customer, using its smart shopping technology, which involves cameras on a SmartCart trolley and artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically identify items a customer pulls off the shelves or puts back.
Once an item is put into the SmartCart, it appears in the virtual trolley smartphone app on a mobile device, with a running tally of goods.
When walking out of the store, purchases are automatically billed to your credit card (the only holdup being alcohol, which requires a manual check).
The company plans to be live in eight supermarkets by the end of the year. — The New Zealand Herald