Trax is a technology company headquartered in Singapore, with offices throughout the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America. Founded in 2010 by Joel Bar-El and Dror Feldheim, Trax has more than 150 customers in the retail and FMCG industries, including beverage giant and brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev. Customers use the company’s computer vision technology to collect, measure, and analyze what’s happening on physical store shelves. Trax’s services are available in 45 markets. Trax's development centre, which opened in July 2012, is in Tel Aviv. In 2015, the company opened its first two regional offices: London in January and São Paulo, Brazil, in April. In March 2016, Trax established its US headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The company opened two more regional offices in Shanghai and Mexico City in June and September 2016, respectively.
Funding
Trax closed its first round of funding for US$1.1 million in June 2011, its second round of funding for US$6.4 million in December 2012, and its third round of funding for US$15.7 million in February 2014. In December 2014, the company announced its fourth round of investment for US$15 million and a fifth round of funding for US$40 million on June 8, 2016.On February 8, 2017, Trax closed its sixth round of funding for US$19.5 million. On June 30, 2017, Trax announced its seventh round of funding for US$64 million led by global private equity giant Warburg Pincus. In 2018, Trax raised $125 million in an investment round led by Chinese private equity firm Boyu Capital, and Singapore’s GIC Pte later came on board as a shareholder.
Mergers and Acquisitions
On July 12, 2017, Trax announced that it had acquired Nielsen Store Observations project-based services in the US from Nielsen Corporation. On January 18, 2018, Trax announced that it had acquired US-based , a provider of crowdsourced data on in-store conditions for the consumer packaged goods industry. In June 2019, Trax announced its acquisition of LenzTech, a Chinese-based company providing artificial intelligence, crowdsourcing services, and Big Data analysis to the retail market. In July 2019, Trax announced that it had acquired Shopkick, a US-based company whose shopping app for smartphones and tablets allows users to earn rewards for their online and in-store shopping activities. Later that month, Trax announced the acquisition of its main global competitor, Planorama, a European provider of image recognition for retail execution.
Partnerships
In January 2019, Trax announced a partnership with Google Cloud Platform. Using Google Cloud Platform, Trax aims to deliver its Retail Watch image recognition product and machine learning capability to retailers to provide real-time shelf insights, such as out-of-stock products. In April 2019, Trax and IRI formed an alliance to provide CPG manufacturers with greater insights for better and faster in-store execution and analytics. In July 2019, Trax announced a strategic partnership agreement with Kantar Group to help CPG manufacturers and retailers optimise category management and product assortment.
Products and Services
Trax offers Computer Vision-led products and services to CPG manufacturers and retailers.
Technology
Trax’s computer vision technology uses artificial intelligence, fine-grained image recognition, and machine learning engines to convert store images into shelf insights. The technology can recognise products that are similar or identical, such as branded drinks or shampoo bottles but can also differentiate between them based on variety and size. Trax piloted its machine learning algorithms with initial customers, allowing its algorithm to learn about different products. As the company processes more images, the better the technology gets at recognizing the same products in different shapes and sizes.
Awards and Recognition
Trax has received a number of awards and recognition, such as the Deloitte 2016 Technology Fast 50 Award and Frost & Sullivan's 2017 Product Innovation Award.
