NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CB Insights today named Pensa Systems, a leading innovator in automated retail shelf intelligence, to its Retail Tech 100 ranking, which showcases the 100 most promising B2B retail tech companies in the world.
The 2022 Retail Tech 100 cohort highlights startups reimagining the retail experience across 13 categories. This year’s winning companies are working on hyper-personalized shopping, blockchain-powered commerce, autonomous delivery, virtual shopping, and more. 19 countries are represented this year, including India, China, Mexico, Singapore, and the Netherlands, among others.
“By almost any measure, this has been a breakout year for retail tech. We’ve seen skyrocketing funding across the industry, powering companies involved in every aspect of retail from instant grocery delivery to supply chain technology,” said Brian Lee, SVP of CB Insights’ Intelligence Unit. “In 2021 alone, these 100 companies raised $13.1B in funding, an incredibly impressive feat. As the retail landscape evolves, we’re excited to see how the companies on the Retail Tech 100 continue to revolutionize how consumers shop.”
"We are honored to have been named to CB Insights’ 2022 Retail Tech 100 for our innovation in automated retail shelf intelligence," said Richard Schwartz, President and CEO of Pensa Systems. "Our team is committed to empowering our customers with a fast and accurate automated solution to digitize their physical inventory to bring it online. This recognition is exceptional validation that we are on the right track in helping to define the future of retail.”
Pensa fills a gap for retailers and CPG brands by providing a continuous view of actual products on the retail shelf as an alternative to legacy approaches that estimate shelf inventory based on a combination of back-room inventory and point of sale data. Pensa’s solution learns to visually recognize and distinguish between products on the shelf much as a human does versus scanning a barcode on the back of a package or comparing a single product image against a product image database. Pensa patented AI captures then automatically analyzes a video stream of hundreds of images, taken from numerous angles, of each individual product on the shelf to flag stockouts, optimize item availability and improve demand forecasting and omnichannel delivery. See Pensa capture and analyze a store aisle in seconds here.
Through an evidence-based approach, the CB Insights research team selected the Retail Tech 100 from a pool of over 7,000 companies, including applicants and nominees. Selection was based on factors including patent activity, business relations, investor profiles, news sentiment analysis, proprietary Mosaic Scores, market potential, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty. The Mosaic Score, based on CB Insights’ algorithm, measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies to help predict a company’s momentum.
Quick facts on the 2022 Retail Tech 100:
- Funding trends: In 2021, these 100 private companies raised $13.1B in equity funding across 109 deals, triple the amount they raised in 2020. So far in 2022, they have raised $2.3B across 15 deals (as of 3/8/22).
- Future market leaders: Nearly two-thirds of the companies on the list are early- or mid-stage companies. There are 20 early-stage companies (seed/angel and Series A) and 43 mid-stage firms (Series B or Series C) in this year’s cohort.
- Unicorns: 36 of the 100 companies (36%) are valued at or above $1B as of their latest funding rounds.
- Top investors: Salesforce Ventures is the most active investor in this year’s Retail Tech 100 companies, with investments in 10 companies across 19 deals since 2017. Tiger Global Management and Insight Partners, which have both invested in 9 companies on the list, are tied for second.
- Global reach: 40% of the 2022 Retail Tech 100 is based outside the US. After the US, the UK and India follow with 6 companies each. Overall, this year’s winners span 19 countries, including Singapore, Australia, China, and the Netherlands.
About CB Insights
At CB Insights, we believe the most complex strategic business questions are best answered with facts. We are a machine intelligence company that synthesizes, analyzes and visualizes millions of documents to give our clients fast, fact-based insights. Serving the majority of the Fortune 100, we give companies the power to make better decisions, take control of their own future, and capitalize on change.
About Pensa Systems
Pensa is the leader in automated retail shelf intelligence, powered by patented advanced AI and computer vision. Pensa delivers the source of truth about what’s happening on the retail shelf to minimize stockouts, increase shelf share, optimize product planning and improve the customer experience for the omnichannel world. Pensa partners with top CPG brands and retailers globally, including Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Circle K, and Unilever to address a trillion-dollar “blind spot” at a critical time in the industry. Please visit pensasystems.com to learn more and stay connected.
CB Insights Contact:
Media@cbinsights.com
Pensa Systems Contact:
Marianna Vyridi
Email: mvyridi@bigvalley.co
Tel: + 1-650-468-3263
