Spatial AI startup Augmodo raises $21M to expand beyond retail stores
Spatial artificial intelligence startup Augmodo Inc. said today it has raised $21 million in an impromptu funding round that lifts its valuation to $350 million.
TQ Ventures served as the lead investors, with participation from Lerer Hippeau, Jefferson River Capital, Arena Holdings, Chemist Warehouse, New Fare, Interlace and Webb Investment Network
The Seattle-based startup is led by Chief Executive Ross Finman, who told GeekWire in an interview that the company wasn’t planning to raise additional capital. But with so many investors showing an interest in applying the company’s technology in new applications, it decided to accept their money and put it to use expanding its platform.
Augmodo originally built its technology for grocery stores. It consists of a small device known as a Smartbadge that’s worn by employees as they walk around the store performing their work. The devices are programmed to constantly scan the store’s shelves without interrupting the worker in order to help managers keep track of their inventory. It also creates a real-time store layout that the startup calls a “Realogram,” and this is what allows store managers to ensure they never run out of stock for a particular item.
