An employee using Scandit's solution on a smartphone in a stockroom. Image: Scandit
Scandit said it has seen increased demand for mobile computer vision on personal smart devices as companies adapt to Covid-19 restrictions.
Today (26 May), Swiss mobile computer-vision start-up Scandit announced that it has raised $80m in Series C funding. This brings the total raised by the company to date to $123m.
The funding round was led by G2VP, a Silicon Valley VC comprised of former Kleiner Perkins partners. There was additional participation from Atomico, GV, Kreos, NGP Capital, Salesforce Ventures and Swisscom Ventures.
Scandit’s technology uses computer vision and machine learning to combine barcode scanning, text recognition, object recognition and AR in camera-equipped smart devices. These devices include smartphones, drones, wearables and robotics, and can help scan in poor lighting conditions, at any angle and with damaged labels.
Scandit said that it has doubled the size of its team since its last funding round, which took place in July 2018. It added that it has doubled the number of blue-chip enterprise customers it has and tripled recurring revenue since then.
Expansion plans
The start-up, which is headquartered in Zurich, said that the latest funding round will help accelerate growth in new markets, such as APAC and Latin America, and expand operations in North America and Europe.
The funding round will also support continued R&D to develop new ways that enterprises can transform their core business processes using computer vision and AR. Some of the start-up’s customers include 7-Eleven, Alaska Airlines, FedEx, Instacart and Toyota.
The company’s technology can be used to create and power mobile apps or websites for mobile shopping, self-checkout, inventory management, proof of delivery, asset tracking and maintenance. In healthcare, Scandit’s platform supports digital health, with healthcare workers using smartphones to scan patient IDs, samples, medication and supplies.
The impact of the coronavirus
In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, Scandit said that it has seen increased demand for mobile computer vision on personal smart devices as companies seek to create a safer contactless environment for employees and customers.
The company said that retailers, transport and logistics companies are discovering that they can scale up faster to meet the demand for click and collect by providing workers with scanning apps on bring-your-own-device (BYOD) schemes or by providing corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) devices.
Samuel Mueller, CEO of Scandit, said: “Covid-19 has shone a spotlight on the need for rapid digital transformation in these uncertain times, and the need to blend the physical and digital plays a crucial role.
“The smartphone is a personal tool that can be deployed with powerful computer-vision software to seamlessly interact with everyday objects and display real-time insights with AR overlays.
“Our new funding makes it possible for us to help even more enterprises to quickly adapt to the new demand for ‘contactless business’, and be better positioned to succeed, whatever the new normal is.”
