eyeQ Raises $3.5 Million In Series A

Shopper intelligence platform eyeQ announced that it has secured $3.5 million in a Series A funding round to further develop its in-store display technology.

EyeQ’s platform provides shopper-aware, in-store displays that are capable of interacting, providing customized content and responding to human emotions. The Austin-based company claims that its displays have proven to drive customer engagement and help increase in-store sales by as much as 38 percent. Of those sales, it says that an average of a 3.2 percent increase in sales comes from direct engagement of its displays with the customers.

An in-store eyeQ display.

“More resources will enable us to continue serving the growing needs of our current customer base, who want to expand their use of eyeQ technologies,” said CEO Michael Garel. “This investment will also help us to more quickly add new retailers and brands who want to use eyeQ to reinvent the in-store shopping experience.”

The investment round was led by new investor Align Capital and saw participation from its existing investors. With fresh funding under its belt, the company is now also adding Lisa Harris, managing partner of Align Capital, to its board of directors.

“We recognize the potential and value of eyeQ,” said Harris. “What eyeQ is doing for the in-store shopper experience is giving brick-and-mortar retailers a way to stay ahead of the game against online competitors. In addition to Michael Garel and his management team, the response to the technology by end consumer shoppers, as well [as] major brands, such as Ford, HP, IBM, Intel, Samsung and OtterBox, is what solidified our interest in investing.”

EyeQ, which was launched in 2012, was showcased by IBM for building its solution with BlueMix, IBM’s cloud platform, and utilizing Watson, IBM’s cognitive computing system, at the May 2015 World of Watson event.