Through machine learning and image analysis, Trax aims to help retailers create the perfect “shelf” and optimise their operations for better sales
Trax, a computer vision and retail intelligence company headquartered in Singapore, has closed a US$64 million funding round led by an affiliate of Warburg Pincus LLC, a private equity firm focussed on growth investing. This capital infusion makes Warburg Pincus the largest institutional shareholder in the company, while several of Trax’ existing investors also participated in this round.
With headquarters in Singapore, a development team in Israel, and sales offices across the globe, Trax mainly serves retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. It uses machine learning in analysing photos and imagery taken in-store in order to deliver granular store-level actionable insights delivered within minutes. With the service, retail establishments can likewise build on their proprietary database and analytics solutions for their products.
Trax offers three main products:
- Retail Execution
- Shelf Intelligence Suite by Trax and Nielsen
- Retail Watch
These are all aimed at enabling CPG companies and retailers to cost-effectively track their in-store execution gaps and shelf compliance, in order to optimise their distribution, merchandising, and pricing — with the purpose of creating the perfect “shelf” and enhancing sales.
Trax has partnered with Nielsen and likewise uses machine learning in order to better understand relationships between merchandising conditions and sales. Such data and insights can be syndicated in order for brands to continuously monitor and optimise across their locations and product offerings, all in the name of boosting sales. The company has over 175 clients in over 50 countries, and it counts top brands such as Coca-Cola, AB InBev, Nestle, Henkel, PepsiCo in its roster.
With this funding round, Trax aims to further enhance its machine learning technology and also support its global expansion. “This latest financing round and our alliance with Nielsen demonstrate that we are making big and bold moves into the retail space worldwide,” said Joel Bar-El, CEO of Trax, in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with our new partner, Warburg Pincus, to tap into their deep relationships in the retail and technology sectors across our key markets with the goal of further accelerating our global growth.”
Machine Learning has been one key focus of Warburg Pincus — Trax is not the only data-driven and machine learning company it has invested in of late. The fund has likewise supported Zimperium, Payscale, Civitas, and Nuance, among others.
“Trax has the potential to become the one stop ‘go to’ solution for all retail info – essentially the ‘Bloomberg of Retail’,” said Jeffrey Perlman, Managing Director and Head of Southeast Asia of Warburg Pincus in a statement. “Machine learning underpins Trax’ computer vision technology which is an important area of focus for Warburg Pincus and we look forward to working with Joel and the Trax team to further expand its market-leading offerings.”
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Featured Image Credit: Trax
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