Singapore’s Trax acquires Paris-based AI startup Qopius

Singapore-headquartered retail tech unicorn Trax announced it has completed its acquisition of Paris-based Qopius, which provides AI-based in-store tech solutions in Europe.

Trax co-founders Joel Bar-El (left), CEO, and Dror Feldheim, chief commercial officer / Photo credit: Trax

The acquisition will help Trax in pushing real-time store monitoring and autonomous inventory management into mainstream adoption, the company said in a statement. It did not disclose any financial details of the deal.

Founded in 2015, Qopius’ hardware-agnostic computer vision platform helps retailers measure shelf performance, increase productivity, and reduce out-of-stock scenarios. The company’s technology uses advanced retail data integration and analytics to aid managers and staff in streamlining store operations and achieving higher sales.

Its current customers include retailers such as Carrefour, Casino, Metro, and MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group.

“The key to retail success in the new decade is using technology to support employees. This means capturing critical shelf data in real time to enable employees to fix merchandising and availability issues faster than ever before,” said Trax co-founder and CEO Joel Bar-El.

With the combined platform, Trax will be able to broaden its reach within the grocery retail space by offering a holistic approach to improving store operations efficiency through always-on shelf monitoring.

The acquisition comes at a time when retail executives are doubling down on improving customer experience, Trax said. According to a study it conducted with retail research and advisory firm Coresight, eight out of 10 executives believe that consistent in-store execution remains the biggest impediment to customer satisfaction.

The Qopius deal follows a string of acquisitions Trax made last year, which includes LenzTech in China, Shopkick in the US, and Planorama in Europe.

Trax also most recently raised US$100 million in a series D round in July last year, led by Chinese alternative asset manager Hopu Investments. Its other backers include Warburg Pincus, Blackrock, GIC, and Boyu Capital.

To date, the startup has raised a total of US$360 million and is now valued at US$1.4 billion.