Shopic

Shopic was founded in 2015 by Raz Golan, Eran Kravitz, and Dan Bendler in Tel Aviv, Israel, to integrate the benefits of online shopping into physical grocery stores. The founders, including CEO Raz Golan and CTO Eran Kravitz, leveraged their backgrounds in cybersecurity to address the lack of technological disruption in the brick-and-mortar retail sector. Initially exploring mobile barcode scanning, they pivoted to a more advanced computer vision-based solution.

The company's core product is an AI-powered, clip-on device named 'Shop-E' that transforms any standard shopping cart into a smart cart. Using computer vision, the device automatically recognizes items as they are added to or removed from the cart in real-time. This enables a frictionless shopping experience where customers can see a running total, receive personalized promotions, and pay directly on the device, bypassing traditional checkout lines. The system is designed for cost-effective implementation, as it works with a retailer's existing cart fleet and does not require significant store infrastructure modifications. Shopic's business model is subscription-based, with revenue generated from fees paid by grocers.

For retailers, Shopic provides a cloud-based platform that delivers real-time data analytics on shopper behavior, store inventory, aisle heatmaps, and operational efficiency. This data helps grocers optimize store layouts, manage inventory, and increase sales through targeted promotions. The company also offers a computer vision-based loss prevention system to reduce fraud at self-checkout points. Shopic's technology has been shown to increase shoppers' monthly spending by 8%.

Shopic has raised a total of $56 million over four funding rounds, with its latest Series B round in August 2022 raising $35 million, led by Qualcomm Ventures. Other notable investors include Claridge Israel, IBI Tech Fund, Tal Ventures, and Shufersal. The company's solutions are deployed in major supermarkets across Europe, the Americas, and Israel.

Keywords: smart cart, computer vision, retail technology, frictionless checkout, in-store analytics, AI retail, grocery tech, retail media network, self-checkout, loss prevention, personalized shopping, shopper behavior, inventory management, retail data, clip-on device, digital shelf, checkout-free, customer experience, smart retail, planogram optimization