Augmodo, a Seattle startup developing wearable tech for retail store employees, raised $37.5 million in a new investment round.
A filing with the SEC this week revealed the new round. A company spokesperson confirmed the funding, which was led by TQ Ventures, a VC firm based in New York City and San Francisco.
It’s a sign of momentum for Augmodo, which raised a $5.4 million seed round less than a year ago and was founded in 2023.
Augmodo’s device, known as a “Smartbadge,” is worn by store employees while they move through aisles. Using computer vision, 3D mapping, and other technology, the badges collect inventory data related to empty shelves, overstocking and more.
Use cases include checking inventory, keeping products in stock, monitoring trends, and eliminating substitutions in e-commerce grocery orders.
Augmodo CEO Ross Finman previously told GeekWire that the company can collect data about empty shelves and product availability more cheaply and efficiently than competitors, which rely on expensive robot scanners.
More from the company’s website:
“By integrating advanced technology with retail operations, we equip every new employee with the equivalent of two years of experience from the outset. Our real-time, street-view technology of store shelves ensures that with each product interaction, our Spatial AI becomes increasingly sophisticated. Consequently, retail employees can enhance their productivity, and customers enjoy an improved in-store experience.”
By tracking every product, Augmodo creates a digital map for each store. The company also allows brands to see the state of their products and promotions dozens of times a day in near real-time instead of having to send someone to check on shelves.
One of Augmodo’s customers is Chemist Warehouse, the largest pharmacy retailer in Australia.
Augmodo says it does not track associates or customers and runs “state-of-the-art privacy filtering on premise to ensure that only shelf data is processed.” The devices do have a security recording feature via a “panic button” that can be activated, according to Augmodo’s website.
Finman, who grew up on a llama farm in Northern Idaho, has had a successful career in robotics and augmented reality, and as an entrepreneur. He completed his undergrad studies at Carnegie Melon University, and his masters and PhD work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He spun his first company, Escher Reality, out of MIT and was part of Y Combinator’s 2017 class. In 2018, Escher was acquired by Niantic Labs, makers of the location-based game “Pokémon Go.” Finman spent more than four years at Niantic as the general manager of the company’s headset division.
Lerer Hippeau led Augmodo’s seed round last year, which included participation from Dunnhumby Ventures, NewFare Partners and Simple Food Ventures.
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