Supersmart, the automated checkout startup that has set out to revolutionize the supermarket checkout process with its automation solution, has raised a $10 million funding round led by German manufacturer Bizerba, with participation from other investment funds and additional private investors, the company confirmed to NoCamels.
Proceeds from the current round will go towards bolstering development of Supersmart’s existing technology, expanding product marketing in new markets, developing new products, and recruiting employees.
The Rosh Haayin-based startup has raised $13 million to date.
It has also signed a distribution agreement with several European supermarket chains, including the Metro supermarkets.
Founded in 2014 by current CEO Yair Cleper, the team at Supersmart has developed a one-of-a-kind technology to bypass checkout lines when exiting supermarkets. Shoppers simply install Supersmart’s purpose-built app and while shopping, scan the products they wish to buy into the app so that they can have a speedier, more efficient shopping experience. The app is specifically configured by the company for each individual retail chain.
When the customer is finished, customers can place their carts in the scanning machine where Supersmart’s weight sensor, artificial intelligence, and camera-based technology scans the cart’s content in less than 3 seconds, prepares a bill, and makes sure that all items in the car have been scanned. The technology lets shoppers pay via the app, receive receipts directly to their mobile phones, and exit the store without further delay.
In addition, when scanning a cart, the technology detects discrepancies between the items scanned into the app and the items in the cart, adds any missing items to the bill and alerts the customer to these additions.
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SubscribeSupersmart offers retail chains “a vitally important outcome,” because it solves the issue of overly packed stores and crowded checkout lines, “especially now during the coronavirus crisis,” the company said in its announcement.
“The trust placed in the company by our investors and the interest exhibited by the world’s foremost retail chains, position Supersmart as a leading solution that, with a simple installation, upgrades customer experiences by eliminating checkout lines. We are pioneering the supermarket exit revolution and fortifying it with error prevention and anti-theft technology. Our team and I are excited to be implementing our technology at new sites around the world” said Cleper.
This is the first investment in an Israeli company for Bizerba, a leader in the area of food processing systems and advanced equipment, scale, and automation solutions for retail chains, supermarkets, delicatessens, and food production.
“I support innovative, ground-breaking collaborations, such as that with Supersmart. This allows us at Bizerba to show, once again, that we remain vigilant and up-to-date in order to meet the needs of our customers,” said Andreas Wilhelm Kraut, Bizerba chairman of the board and CEO.
“Together with the supermarket and retail chains, we can offer and bring about real change in the world of retail. The current investment will help us, as a company, to expand product development and penetrate additional markets,” he added.
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