Romanian start-up Footprints kicks off the first financing round, eyes EUR 500,000 investment

The Romanian company Footprints for Retail, which operates one of the most advanced Retail Media platforms in the world, is starting the first round of financing. Footprints for Retail aims to attract an investment of 500,000 euros, at a pre-money valuation of 5 million euros.

Footprints For Retail is the only Romanian company included in Microsoft Pegasus, Microsoft’s globally developed program that includes 12 companies that it bets will reshape the business and operating mode of classic commerce.

The Romanian company has already attracted investment funds worth 275,000 euros, from 8 investors, and is pursuing, in parallel, a partnership with an investment fund active on the venture capital market. The shareholders expect the mix of investors and venture capital fund to ensure the best development of the only Retail Media company in Romania.

The launch of this funding round comes at a time of significant growth in the Retail Media market – a new form of advertising that closes the loop between media impressions and commercial transactions to improve targeting, provide new audience insights and deliver experiences more relevant and valuable to consumers. Globally, this market is estimated to reach $50 billion in revenue by the end of 2022, up more than 30% from last year.

The need for funding for the accelerated development of Footprints for Retail and the opening of the first round come in a context where large retailers are forced to identify new potential customers, meet them in as many places as possible and know their needs and purchasing desires , while anticipating consumption behavior, in an attempt to identify new sources of income and increase profit margins.

The Footprints solution is based on a unique technology that offers offline retail companies the opportunity to convert anonymous traffic into profitable customers with predictable purchase behavior by unitarily analyzing offline and online behavioral data with the help of artificial intelligence and algorithmic automation.

The Footprints platform and solution is based on the solid experience of a team of 15 people and is the result of 5 years of work and an investment of 2 million euros to date.

Currently, the Footprints solution is used by large retailers in Romania, Dubai, Serbia, Bulgaria and Spain. The attracted funding will allow expansion in several countries, the company’s objective being that at the end of next year the developed solution will be used by retailers in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. At the same time, it will also allow the development of the AI ​​platform and algorithms in the direction of improving the predictions of consumer behavior in physical retail.