Dive Brief:
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Standard Cognition, an autonomous checkout provider, recently announced it acquired Milan-based Checkout Technologies, an artificial intelligence checkout company, for an undisclosed amount.
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The acquisition expands Standard Cognition's European presence and the size of its engineering staff, according to a company statement emailed to Retail Dive.
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Standard Cognition has signed several retail clients and is is in talks with hundreds of retailers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, according to the company.
Dive Insight:
Standard Cognition's Checkout Technologies acquisition comes after the checkout startup snapped up DeepMagic, a New York-based retail automation company, last October. Standard Cognition raised $35 million in series B funding last July, which is part of the larger $86 million it has raised in funding from investors including CRV, Initialized Capital, EQT Ventures and Y Combinator, according to the company.
"With this acquisition, Standard gains solid technology and more than a dozen top-shelf AI and machine learning engineers, and gets us an immediate ground presence in Europe," Standard Cognition co-founder and CEO Jordan Fisher said in a statement.
Previous research suggests that these technologies might be appealing to consumers in the long term. Per a recent report from PYMNTS.com USA Technologies, nearly half of consumers use unattended retail, ranging from cashierless stores to self-serve kiosks, because it's faster than traditional retailers. And more than a third of shoppers said unattended retail channels offer shorter lines, according to the report.
Other retailers have turned their attention to cashierless technologies over the past year. Amazon and 7-Eleven, for example, have been experimenting with and expanding their cashierless store operations, a sign that convenience stores may increasingly adopt cashierless tech in the future. Not only has Amazon expanded the number of its Amazon Go stores in the past few years, but the e-commerce giant announced in March that it's also selling its cashierless technology to other retailers.
Meanwhile, more companies are developing technology or raising funds to distribute cashierless tech to retailers. Last fall, Trigo raised $22 million to provide more cashierless tech to grocers. In December, Zippin raised $12 million to feature its cashierless technology across grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers.
