Simbe Announces Series B Funding of $28 Million
Simbe Robotics, Inc., an AI robotics company that brings autonomous inventory robots to grocery stores, has announced a Series B equity financing round of $28 million, led by venture capital firm Eclipse.
Simbe says the increased funding will enable the company to “meet rising global customer demand, enter future product areas, expand its team, and continue delivering value to new and existing partners by optimizing both in-store and e-commerce operations.”
Simbe’s Tally robot is a quiet, slim robot that unobtrusively traverses store aisles throughout the day, using 3D computer vision technology to collect highly accurate shelf data. It can capture 15,000 to 30,000 products an hour, ensuring products remain in-stock, in the correct location and accurately priced. In the past 12 months, Simbe has partnered with retailers such as BJ’s Wholesale, Schnuck Markets, SpartanNash, Wakefern, Carrefour and more.
“We're honored to be supported by an investor like Eclipse, with a team that recognizes technology's incredible potential to significantly enhance retail operations, as well as greatly improve the customer experience,” said Brad Bogolea, CEO and co-founder of Simbe. “Elevating the retail experience for everyone — retailers, their associates, and customers — through AI and robotics is the foundation of Simbe’s mission, and this funding will enable us to share this vision and reimagined experience with more retail partners around the world.”
The Series B funding round follows a successful Series A in 2019, bringing the total amount raised by Simbe to $54 million. In 2020, Simbe introduced Tally 3.0, the latest iteration of Tally and the most advanced autonomous inventory robot on the market. In 2023, Simbe developed new capabilities specifically tailored to the warehouse club format to prepare Tally for chainwide deployment across BJ’s Wholesale Club locations, expanding its reach beyond the traditional grocery setting.
“A sizable percentage of global GDP is tied up in inventory,” said Lior Susan, founding partner at Eclipse. “For retailers, mismanaged inventory is a $2 trillion problem and it’s clear the industry needs better tools that allow retailers to understand how their stores are operating in real-time, in order to enhance the in-store experience for all. Simbe has demonstrated the power of AI- and data-driven solutions for driving sales, improving margins, increasing resilience within the retail industry, and ultimately, contributing to continued economic growth."