Computer Vision Firm Trax Collects $640M in New Funding

Trax, an Israel-based technology firm with ambitions to digitize retail through computer vision, has secured $640 million in new funding.

The Series E financing round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and technology-focused funds managed by existing investor BlackRock Inc. New investors include OMERS, one of Canada’s largest benefit pension plans, and Sony Innovation Fund by IGV.

Trax uses computer vision—shelf-mounted and ceiling-mounted cameras and roaming robots—to monitor store conditions, then uses the data to underpin insights and solutions for stores, CPG brands and shoppers. Trax said its technologies can enable tighter execution control on inventory and cost-effective solutions to address it, including an on-demand workforce to provide merchandising support as needed.

The company currently works with more than 150 CPG companies and retailers worldwide, including Auchan, which has deployed its Retail Watch platform in 34 stores in Portugal. That partnership helped reduce price anomalies by 75%, and improve shelf availability by 3% in its first month, Trax said. Workforce productivity improvement is around 250 working hours per month, it added.

The company and its investors said the new financing would help the company further develop its solutions and expand into new markets. Trax maintains U.S. offices in San Francisco and has hubs in Israel and Singapore.

“Trax has been building its sophisticated, AI-powered, retail cloud platform for more than a decade,” Justin Behar, CEO of Trax, said in a statement. “We began our journey by creating novel computer vision solutions for retail and have since broadened our capabilities to serve the evolving needs of the modern retail ecosystem. Through this significant investment from SoftBank, BlackRock and others, we will invest in our team, extend our market leadership, continue to scale our retailer business, and drive the next stages of long-term growth and innovation.”

“Through its innovative AI platform and image recognition technologies, we believe Trax is optimizing retail stores by enabling CPG brands and retailers to execute better inventory strategies using data and analytics,” said Chris Lee, director at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We are excited to partner with the Trax team to help expand their product offerings and enter new markets.”