Standard Cognition Raises $40M To Take On Amazon Go

Standard Cognition, which provides AI-powered autonomous checkout solutions for brick-and-mortar retailers, announced it has raised $40 million in Series A funding, bringing its total amount raised to more than $51 million.

The round was led by Initialized Capital, with continued participation from CRV and Y Combinator, and new investors including Draper Associates. The company will use the funds to expand its team and accelerate its ongoing global expansion.

In addition, Garry Tan, co-founder and managing partner at Initialized Capital, and Devdutt Yellurkar, general partner at CRV have both joined Standard’s board.

“The Standard team has been an execution machine, meeting or exceeding every goal and working tirelessly to get in front of nearly every major retailer on the globe,” Tan said in a press release. “They have huge technology advantages that are readily apparent to retail clients, and are years ahead of other startups in this space — we think Standard is the most exciting play right now in AI or retail tech.”

Standard’s artificial intelligence-based system allows consumers to shop and pay without scanning or stopping to check out, much like Amazon Go. And while it’s been reported that Amazon plans to open 3,000 locations by 2021, Standard’s platform is available to any retailer.

Standard has made strides in recent months, including signing on its first four retail customers (spanning Asia, North America and Europe); obtaining a critical patent for its technology; and opening San Francisco’s first public cashierless store.

“In 2019, consumers will start to see autonomous checkout deployed in their favorite stores, and by 2025, it will be common,” said Jordan Fisher, co-founder and CEO of Standard Cognition. “We’re seeing in our San Francisco store that shoppers love the convenience, and retailers love the accuracy, cost savings and customer service advantages. We can’t wait to execute on this next stage of Standard’s growth.”