Autonomous retail checkout startup eyes global expansion
The company raised an additional $5.5 million from venture capital firm CRV, bringing its total raised to date to $11.2 million. The funding, says the company, will be used to accelerate its global expansion, hire AI and machine vision experts, and kick off initial pilots with multiple, global retailers.
“Pressure from Amazon is forcing retailers to rethink traditional ways of doing business,” says Devdutt Yellurkar, General Partner at CRV. “We continue to be impressed with the Standard team, and we think they are on track to be the primary alternative to Amazon Go. We see incredible opportunity in the space, and we’re excited to work with Standard as they deliver autonomous checkout and a deeper understanding of consumer shopping behavior.”
Standard Cognition says it is the first to offer an AI- and machine-vision based autonomous checkout solution. Its technology leverages AI and cameras to enable consumers to shop and pay without scanning or stopping to check out (see video demo below).
Unlike other autonomous checkout platforms, says the company, its solution requires only light-touch installation (with cameras only on the store ceiling), accepts cash or credit, and can accommodate any existing store layout. The company announced its cashierless checkout solution last year, a few months before Amazon’s no-checkout grocery store opened to the public in January.
Just last month, reports circulated that Microsoft was working on technology that would replace cashiers and checkout lines from stores. And more recently, Walmart announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft with the goal of further accelerating the retail giant’s digital transformation in retail.
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