This round of primary and secondary capital also saw participation from new investors including OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, and Sony Innovation Fund by IGV. The company has now raised more than $1 billion from investors.
The valuation for the round was not disclosed, but industry sources estimate that it was more than $2 billion. Market sources indicate that the company is planning to do an IPO in New York at that valuation later in the year.
Trax was founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv, and now has hubs in the United States, Singapore and Israel, serving customers in more than 90 countries worldwide. It has acquired five companies during the last two years, and laid off 10% of its 300 Israeli workers earlier in 2021 as part of a restructuring process.
Powered by its proprietary computer vision, advanced Internet of things hardware, on-demand workforce, and shopper solutions, Trax’s cloud platform is designed to accelerate the digital transformation of consumer packaged goods companies and grocery retailers by providing granular visibility of rapidly changing store conditions, allowing users to make timely, data-driven decisions, the company said.
“We are witnessing the retail industry adopt digital technologies at an unprecedented pace and scale,” said Joel Bar-El, executive chairman and co-founder of Trax. “Despite the turbulence of 2020, we made tremendous strides in our business because of the hard work, dedication and team spirit at Trax. Our many solutions address the complex needs of CPG brands and retailers as they rapidly adjust to shifts in consumer behavior. This funding puts Trax confidently at the forefront of the future of retail, where the physical and digital combine in new ways to bring meaningful experiences to shoppers.”
“Trax has been building its sophisticated, AI-powered, retail cloud platform for more than a decade,” said Justin Behar, CEO of Trax. “We began our journey by creating novel computer vision solutions for retail and have since broadened our capabilities to serve the evolving needs of the modern retail ecosystem. Through this significant investment from SoftBank, BlackRock and others, we will invest in our team, extend our market leadership, continue to scale our retailer business, and drive the next stages of long-term growth and innovation.”