Including Cavela, Torq, and Flink: Eight Retail Technology Funding Rounds You Need to Know About — Retail Technology Innovation Hub
DELLI says it is leveraging strategies such as exclusive drops and influencer collaborations to reinvent the way food is sold. In the past months, it has partnered with the likes of Ravneet Gill, Ben Lippett, Jackson Boxer, James Cochrane, and Sam Grainger.
Cavela
Cavela has officially launched and also announced a $2 million funding round led by XYZ Venture Capital, with additional support from Propel Ventures and Go Global Ventures.
For several months, the startup has been building an AI platform to connect product makers (e-commerce, boutique brands, startups) with the right supplier to manufacture physical products at the best price.
“Creating custom products is difficult, but with recent developments in AI, it doesn’t have to be,” says Anthony Sardain, CEO at Cavela. “Large enterprises have dedicated teams to manage the complex process of product sourcing, but small and midsized businesses don’t have that luxury. We’re levelling the playing field, making it easier and more affordable for anyone to create custom products.”
Cavela says that its team is uniquely positioned to tackle these challenges, drawing on their extensive experience in both procurement and AI technology. The core team has backgrounds at Stripe, Google, Amazon, and Disney. They also have manufacturing and procurement expertise from Primark and DS Smith, have run e-commerce brands, and are broadly international with strong connections to supplier hubs in Asia and Latin America.
PriceShape
Private equity firm, Copilot Capital, has made an undisclosed investment in PriceShape, which specialises in pricing intelligence and competitor monitoring.
PriceShape, a bootstrapped Danish startup founded in 2018, is developing a software tool and price robot that enable retailers to customise pricing in real-time. “We were incredibly impressed by PriceShape’s trajectory and the way they have run their business,” says John Messer, Managing Partner at Copilot Capital. “The founders have built an exceptional system that turns raw data into valuable, actionable insights. It’s not just about scraping millions of websites – what makes them stand out is how they enable their clients to act on the data easily. We truly believe in their vision and want to go on this journey with them.”
TeamBridge
TeamBridge, a workforce operating system specialist, has raised $28 million in a Series B round led by Mayfield, with participation from existing investors General Catalyst and Abstract Ventures. The case will be used to accelerate the company’s product and AI roadmap, enhance client services, and continue to scale its infrastructure.
“Most tech companies are building for each other,” says Arjun Vora, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at TeamBridge. “We’re building technology for the forgotten demographic: the hourly workforce. That’s 60-70% of the world’s workforce. We’re bringing the technology revolution to those businesses — giving them a workforce OS to deploy their secret sauce at scale.”
The company has grown across sectors from medical staffing and homecare to warehouse staffing and hospitality since it launched in late 2022. It was founded by former Uber product and design leaders Arjun Vora and Tito Goldstein. “TeamBridge supercharges businesses with hourly workforces by providing them with the first composable operating system to create customisable workflows to manage and empower this important but neglected demographic of the economy,” says Sri Pangulur, Partner at Mayfield. “Businesses are able to optimise their bottom line, and front-line workers are offered more flexibility and income opportunities through TeamBridge’s software. We are thrilled to be leading TeamBridge’s Series B to partner with them to build the operating system of record for the hourly workforce.”
Flink
Quick commerce startup Flink has raised $150 million at a valuation of approximately $1 billion. BOND, Mubadala, Northzone, and supermarket giant REWE are all backing the company, along with two unnamed investors.
“This investment will enable us to further expand our footprint, improve operational efficiency, and continue delivering the fast, reliable service that our customers rely on,” says Oliver Merkel, Founder and Managing Director at Flink.
Conclusion
With substantial funding rounds and innovative breakthroughs, these key players in retail technology are paving the way for transformative changes in the industry. From AI-driven product sourcing solutions to real-time pricing intelligence and workforce operating systems, the future looks bright for these startups as they continue to expand and revolutionize the market.
