BERKELY, CA - By now, many of us have seen the innovative checkout-free technology deployed by the likes of big-name retailers like Amazon. This tech allows consumers to skip the checkout line, saving time and adding convenience for both shopper and retailer alike. Another player in this innovative arena is Grabango, which recently announced it raised $39 million in Series B funding to further evolve its checkout-free technology for grocery and convenience store partners.

“We pride ourselves on the accuracy of the system and the ease with which it operates in the dynamic environment of a modern store,” said Will Glaser, CEO of Grabango. “Wasting time in lines has always bothered me, and now we no longer have to endure it. The incredibly gifted Grabango team has built one of the great marvels of modern technology; so advanced that it feels like magic!”

Grabango is one of the first companies to retrofit its checkout-free technology to an already operating store, saving its shoppers time as they skip the line, according to a press release. The grocery innovator, in partnership with Giant Eagle, has proven that its technology works with over 15,000 SKUs and tens of thousands of transactions each month. Grabango was able to install its technology in a Giant Eagle GetGo store without disruption, and now will be launching its product into four more locations in the greater Pittsburgh area by the end of 2021.

“At Giant Eagle, our success over our 90-year history is founded in our commitment to service and innovation,” said Laura Karet, President and CEO of Giant Eagle. “In the past decade, we have experienced significant growth in using technology to advance how our customers shop with us in-store and online. Grabango is a key partner in what we will accomplish in the next 10 years. Since we first introduced their system last fall, we’ve seen GetGo customers embrace the technology and use it with enthusiasm. We’re excited to roll out this technology to additional GetGo locations in the coming months so more of our shoppers can enjoy the convenience of safely skipping the checkout line.”

Raising over $39 million to continue to expand its successful technology, the Series B funding round for Grabango was led by Commerce Ventures with participation from Founders Fund, Unilever Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, and WIND Ventures, all of whom share in the company’s vision for modernization across the retail world.

“We evaluated nearly every company in the space and chose Grabango because they had the most robust technology, an approach that works in complex retail environments, and an incredible team. This combination is why they continue to pull away as the market leader,” said Matt Nichols, Partner at Commerce Ventures. “Incredibly, the $5.7 trillion grocery market had been left behind as tech innovation focused on other sectors. Grabango delivers a new level of convenience for shoppers and will transform the economics of grocery and convenience stores across the world.”

This new capital investment accompanies several other store develpments, including the addition of new customers in 2021. To date, Grabango has signed five retail partners, each one with over $1 billion in revenue, including a global top-10 grocer as well as a Fortune-25 multinational retailer. Additionally, the company has filed 38 patents, several of which have already been awarded.

“We pride ourselves on identifying and supporting forward-thinking founders like Will Glaser,” said Stephen Willson, Managing Partner of Unilever Ventures. “In 2016, he recognized that the grocery industry was long overdue for in-store innovation and conceived of checkout-free technology as a way to transform the industry. Now, he and his team at Grabango are deploying these systems to reshape the experience for the modern shopper.”

In recent years, Checkout-free technology has only increased in demand across the globe. With Grabango’s innovative solutions created using computer vision technology to identify items as they are picked up, consumers can skip the lines and have their receipts sent to them after departing the store. This will create a seamless shopping experience for both retailers and shoppers, with companies like Grabango hoping for this to become the global standard.

Of its newly raised capital, some of it will go to augment its development team, with its engineering group performing advanced work to develop the technology to Grabango’s high standards.

With this new funding, how will Grabango evolve the checkout-free technology sector, and what new partners will join its mission? Keep reading AndNowUKnow as we go in search of answers.

Grabango