Tote

About Tote

Tote.ai is a technology company modernizing the fuel and convenience store sector with its AI-native point-of-sale (POS) system. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company aims to unify the customer shopping experience from the fuel pump to the in-store checkout. The company is led by CEO Shyam Rao, a seasoned entrepreneur who was previously the founder and CEO of Punchh, a CRM platform acquired by PAR Technologies for $500 million. His background includes roles at Prime Focus Limited, Merrill Lynch, and an early career as a software engineer at Motorola. The broader team comprises technologists with experience from companies like Punchh, Visa, Clover, and Lightspeed Commerce.

The company's core product is a POS platform designed to replace outdated legacy systems in the convenience retail industry. A key feature is the "one customer, one cart" architecture, which allows a shopper to start a transaction at the pump, add items via a mobile app, and complete the purchase at any register or self-checkout station without needing to rescan items. The system's headless, event-driven architecture integrates with existing hardware, such as fuel dispensers and POS terminals, allowing for flexible adoption without a complete overhaul of a store's infrastructure. By building artificial intelligence into its foundation, the platform enables personalized promotions, loyalty program integration, and data-driven insights to increase high-margin sales. Store managers can use the system to make real-time adjustments to menus, pricing, and promotions without requiring extensive IT support.

In August 2025, Tote.ai announced it had secured $22.6 million in a funding round led by Cota Capital, with participation from Storm Ventures and Cervin Ventures. The capital is intended to accelerate hiring, support market expansion across the United States, and fund further product development. The company's business model targets the $837+ billion US convenience retail industry, providing a modern software solution to an often-overlooked market segment.