Trigo Vision Unveils Advanced Retail Automation Platform; Announces $7 Million Seed Funding

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

World-class algorithmics experts take on Amazon Go, Microsoft and other tech giants in the frictionless checkout race 

Trigo Vision, a computer vision startup reshaping the retail experience, today emerged from stealth and announced $7M in a seed funding round by UK-Israel based Hetz Ventures and Vertex Ventures Israel. Trigo Vision's platform combines a highly sophisticated, ceiling-based camera network with machine vision algorithms to identify and capture customers' shopping items with exceptional levels of accuracy during their in-store journey, eliminating the need for a checkout process.

The funding will be used to acquire top talent in order to grow the company's core R&D team and build new applications for their technology, the most precise retail automation platform available today.

The retail industry faces tough challenges as rising costs continue to exert pressure on margins. This has forced retailers to focus on cost reduction and operational efficiency and increase customer service. According to Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing 2018, the role of brick and mortar stores must be reimagined and the in-store experience will be pivotal in order for retailers to remain relevant during this transformative retail age. Incorporating advanced technologies and adding experiential elements will define the most innovative and compelling stores, delivering multiple benefits to savvy retailers wishing to drive market share and stay ahead of the curve.

"We're excited to lead the first funding round of Trigo Vision together with Vertex Ventures. We believe the company's strengths as a team have driven them to where they are today," said Judah Taub, Managing Partner of Hetz Ventures. "Trigo Vision's cutting-edge technology combined with their passion and execution skills will help define the future of brick and mortar retail."

"The founding team has managed to assemble a world-class R&D team to tackle an enormous user experience problem in Retail," adds Yanai Oron, General Partner at Vertex Ventures. "The speed in which the company has put together a working product and early traction with large retailers is a testament to that."

Developed by world class AI and algorithmics experts, Trigo Vision's founders have gained extensive experience working on a multitude of complex projects for Israel's military intelligence. The company's highly advanced, patent-pending computer vision technology necessitates significantly fewer cameras compared to other solutions on the market today. Coupled with a unique data collection process, Trigo Vision provides extremely precise identification of products, underlining the company's competitive advantage. Complementing this, the company's platform offers retailers complete flexibility and scalability for easy and swift deployment into a store of any size, without requiring any type of change to its layout or structure. Their system can also be customized according to cultural differences within each market.

"We have received tremendously positive feedback for Trigo Vision," comments Michael Gabay, Co-Founder and Trigo Vision's CEO. "We're already in talks with major grocers globally and we're confident that Trigo Vision will be the first platform to debut in a live retail store. With this investment, we will be looking to develop additional novel applications to our tracking technology, driving in-store operational efficiency and customer engagement even further."

Key features and benefits of Trigo Vision's platform include:

• Enhanced customer loyalty and new levels of customer service by offering a seamless shopping experience and opportunities for in-store employees to play a more interactive role with the shopper.
  
• A significant reduction in shoplifting, creating colossal savings for supermarkets and chain stores.
  
• Invaluable retail intelligence for stores and brands on buying behavior, product placement and shopping habits, including real-time insights, rather than relying on second-hand research.
  
• Increased operational efficiency across core business functions.
  
• Optimization of in-store real estate following the removal of checkouts, and its required space for lines.
  
• GDPR-compliant technology that collects the data anonymously without attaching identities to it, alleviating potential privacy fears.

"Any type of automation market has to work with exceptionally high levels of accuracy, particularly in such a direct consumer-facing environment such as retail," says Daniel Gabay, Co-Founder and CTO of Trigo Vision. "This is our goal and we believe the technological capabilities of our platform, with its combination of flexibility and scalability, can supercede rivals in the space, even compared to that of the tech behemoths."

About Trigo Vision 

Trigo Vision is a computer vision startup reshaping the retail experience. Leveraging world class AI and algorithmics experts, the company's advanced retail automation platform identifies customers' shopping items with exceptional levels of accuracy, creating an entirely seamless checkout process. Trigo Vision's technology streamlines retail operations, prevents shoplifting, provides invaluable retail insights and presents opportunities for new levels of customer engagement within retail environments. Please visit trigovision.com for more info.

About Hetz Ventures 

Hetz Ventures is a $55M UK-based fund, backed by some of Europe's most successful and best-connected investors. The value the fund adds centres on its unique network with major UK and international companies, providing the ability to validate a company's proposition and quickly accelerate a company's business. The fund is focusing on Seed and Series A investments across various sectors including Fintech, Enterprise IT, Retail and Construction. Hetz Ventures is constantly seeking exceptional Israeli entrepreneurs and teams building deep and defensible technologies or disruptive business models. Go to hetz.vc for more info.

About Vertex Ventures Israel 

Vertex Ventures is a leading global venture capital group supporting entrepreneurs to transform their innovative ideas into world-class businesses. With cumulative committed capital in excess of $2.5 billion, Vertex invests in early-stage IT and healthcare opportunities in Silicon Valley, China, India, Israel, and South East Asia. Since 1988, Vertex is honored to have partnered with the founders of global leaders such as Waze, 91, Grab, IGG, CyberArk, Reebonz, SolarEdge, Force10, FirstCry, Yatra and Changba. Vertex Ventures Israel is one of the pillars of the Vertex Group's network of Funds focusing on early stage opportunities in the Information Technology sector in Israel. Learn more here.

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