PORTLAND, Jan. 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (http://www.myprgenie.com) -- VendScreen, Inc., has closed a $17.8 million round of financing to take its 3G vending platform technology into broad commercialization. The financing was secured from two current investors -- 3x5 Special Opportunity Fund and Merrickhanna Ventures.
"VendScreen is about bringing the power of technology and the cloud to the vending industry," said Tony Arnerich, chairman of the board and managing director of 3x5 Special Opportunity Fund. "As demonstrated by the size of our investment, we believe in VendScreen and the innovative technology they bring to the vending marketplace."
VendScreen's remotely programmable touchscreens and user interface provides detail at the time of purchase not previously available in vending. This technology meets consumers' growing demand for new ways to interact with vending machines. The VendScreen technology enables vending machines to accept debit and credit card transactions and provide detailed product information, including complete nutritional and calorie information exceeding proposed Federal mandates. The VendScreen platform will also provide a vehicle for advertising, and loyalty programs in the near future.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue developing our industry leading SaaS platform," said John Archer, president and CEO of VendScreen. "This significant investment will enable VendScreen to scale quickly to meet increasing demand."
VendScreen is a market leader in vending platform technology, and is on the leading edge of data collection and metrics on consumer purchasing behavior. For this reason the VendScreen platform is also of interest to several large Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies.
VendScreen devices are powered by 3G wireless technology for seamless over-the-air updates. They can be easily retrofitted onto most vending machines and are fully integrated with VendSys, MEI, and Streamware.
About 3x5 Special Opportunity Fund
3×5 Special Opportunity Fund, L.P. is a St Louis and
Portland-based, closed-end private investment fund focused
primarily on direct investments in later-stage companies within the
healthcare, technology and clean-tech sectors. The fund closed in
early 2013 at approximately $80 million in committed capital, which
it expects to deploy over six portfolio investments.
About VendScreen, Inc.
VendScreen, Inc. powers many of the nation's vending machines
VendScreen utilizes a SaaS platform that enables cashless
transactions, mobile payments, centralized remote monitoring,
advertising, nutrition label and calorie disclosure. VendScreen
devices collectively process more than $1 million in vending
machine sales per month. For more information, please visit
www.vendscreen.com.