San Diego-based Simbe Robotics, the company behind the world's first autonomous shelf-scanning retail robot, has announced a successful Series B funding round, raising $28 million. The funding round was led by Eclipse, a venture firm specializing in the digital transformation of physical industries. The investment will be used to accelerate global expansion and product innovation.
Simbe's AI and robotics technology aims to enhance retailers' performance by providing real-time insights into inventory and operations. The company's business intelligence solution is powered by Tally, an autonomous in-store product auditing solution. Tally collects data on product locations and identifies out-of-stock, misplaced, or mispriced items with over 99% accuracy. The platform combines AI, computer vision, RFID, and edge computing technology to deliver accurate data and real-time insights, improving the retail experience for both customers and store teams.
The partnership with Eclipse signifies their confidence in emerging retail and grocery technologies. It will enable Simbe to meet increasing global customer demand, expand its team, enter new product areas, and optimize in-store and e-commerce operations. The investment also aligns with Simbe's mission to elevate the retail experience through AI and robotics.
“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. “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.”
Eclipse's investment in Simbe reflects their belief in the transformative impact of AI and robotics in the retail industry. Jay Knafel, Partner at Eclipse, praised Simbe's solution for overcoming the challenges of full-stack systems, highlighting its successful deployment across various store environments and its ability to operate fully autonomously. He also commended Simbe's compact and consumer-friendly robot, which can fit into any store and deploy within hours.
Lior Susan, Founding Partner at Eclipse, emphasized the importance of better tools for retailers to understand real-time store operations and enhance the in-store experience. Mismanaged inventory poses a significant problem for retailers, with billions of dollars at stake. Susan highlighted Simbe's AI- and data-driven solutions as key drivers for improving sales, margins, and resilience within the retail industry.
The Series B funding builds on Simbe's previous successful funding rounds, bringing the total amount raised to $54 million. The company has experienced significant growth, increasing its annual recurring revenue by 10X and contracted annual recurring revenue by 22X since 2020.
Simbe has achieved significant milestones with its Tally product, including the launch of Tally 3.0, the latest version of its autonomous inventory robot. The company's partnerships with retailers like BJ's Wholesale Club and expansions with other leading retailers demonstrate the versatility of Simbe's solution across different retail formats. Simbe has also expanded its leadership team, strengthening its strategic growth and data capabilities.
Over the past year, Simbe has serviced top retailers globally, processed billions of shelf photos, analyzed billions of products, and completed millions of hours of fully autonomous data capture operations. The company continues to innovate and provide valuable insights in the retail ecosystem.
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