In-store audio platform Qsic closes on $25M in fundingIn-store audio platform Qsic closes on $25M in funding

In-store audio platform provider Qsic has closed on a $25 million round of Series B funding led by investment firm Hedosophia to help expand its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology into new retail locations, accelerate product development and scale its sales team.

In May 2021, Dallas-based Qsic raised $3.1 million in Series A funding led by investment firm Carthona Capital, Sydney, Australia.

Powering in-store audio and retail media networks (RMN) for retailers such as 7-Eleven and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) such as McDonald’s to boost in-store sales, Qsic reaches more than 100 million shoppers at the point of purchase monthly, it said, with more than 70,000 speakers set to deploy across North America over the next year.

“The demand for our solution is strong,” said Matt Elsley, co-founder and CEO at Qsic. “Now, we’re positioned to accelerate product development to enhance our tech capabilities and put new resources in place to grow our network to drive even greater, measurable outcomes for our retail partners and brands globally.”

Despite retail media’s massive growth online, research shows that 85% of all shopping still happens in-store, according to Qsic. Yet, in-store retail media has faced more barriers to adoption, like high costs to implement, measurement challenges and difficulty scaling, it said.

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Qsic enhances the in-store experience and drives incremental revenue through curated, intelligent content delivered dynamically based on shopper behavioral patterns, said Qsic. The company has developed the proprietary intelligent audio solutions to address challenges and lower the barrier of entry with a setup designed to scale with advanced measurement capabilities and automated planning tools.

To support scale and customization, Qsic has developed a proprietary generative AI model, called Lucy, for the creation of custom audio ad content, including on-demand voiceovers. Lucy dynamically creates and localizes ad content in real time, leveraging retailer data to include details like local pricing, inventory and weather conditions to increase engagement with shoppers. Qsic surpasses Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standards by automatically adjusting audio volume based on ambient noise levels, the company said, ensuring each ad is heard clearly. Additionally, Qsic’s system timestamps each ad, providing validation for in-store media compliance.

Qsic recently announced a partnership with Irving, Texas-based convenience-store chain 7-Eleven Inc. to rollout Gulp Radio in more than 5,000 stores across the United States by the end of 2024 with the goal to be fully deployed in 12,000 stores by the end of 2025, which includes all 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores nationwide. Once fully deployed at scale, Gulp Radio will be one of North America’s largest commercial radio networks enabling advertisers to reach the chain’s 13 million daily shoppers.

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Qsic’s clients include global retailers in fuel and convenience, grocery, liquor, hospitality, fashion and specialty retail.

This story was originally featured on CSP Daily News, a sister publication of Supermarket News.