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Today we’re pleased to announce that we’ve raised $150M in our Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from EQT, CRV, SK Networks, and a truly elite set of investors. With the single largest investment for an autonomous checkout or pure-play computer vision company, Standard becomes the industry’s first unicorn at a billion dollar valuation. We’ll use this funding to expand the Standard platform in exciting new ways and bring AI-driven checkout to the masses with the opening of over 50,000 stores in the next five years. Read the press release here for more details.
“The physical retail industry must accelerate its pace of digital transformation to better compete with online players,” said Serena Dayal, Investment Director, SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We believe Standard is emerging as a clear leader for autonomous checkout, driven by advanced AI-powered technologies. We are excited to partner with the Standard leadership team as they aim to accelerate deployment of checkout-free technology with retailers seeking to improve their customers’ shopping experience.”
“Retailers find themselves in the midst of a perfect storm, as they struggle for razor-thin margins, battle the likes of Amazon and Walmart, and are beaten down by COVID-19,” said Jordan Fisher, Co-founder and CEO of Standard. “Retailers and their customers have waited for a technology like computer vision to help drive the industry forward. This new category will be bigger than mobile or the Internet. It is the most disruptive thing to happen to retail in decades.”
Using AI-powered cameras and software, computer vision is changing the way people interact with the physical world. Computer vision and AI are ultimately going to have an impact that goes far beyond retail — autonomous driving, manufacturing, offices, gyms – to fundamentally alter and better the way we live.
“Checkout-free technology has brought a new experience to our retail environment. Through our partnership with Standard, we’ve transformed a current store into a completely frictionless operation, and we’re excited to retrofit more stores in the near future,” said Charles Pereira, Vice President of Operations for Chartwells Higher Ed, a division of Compass Group.
“Standard has positioned itself as a leader in the field of computer vision, a technology that TI Platform Management believes will generate opportunities in the tens of trillions of dollars across numerous sectors. We’re thrilled to be backing what is sure to be a truly transformative company,” said Trang Nguyen, Co-founder/ Senior Portfolio Manager at Standard investor TI Platform Management.