UK retail customer data company Dunnhumby and its corporate venture capital arm, Dunnhumby Ventures, have formed an industry collaboration programme.
Dubbed Retail Innovation Network, the initiative helps connect startups, enterprise partners and investors active in the retail and consumer goods sectors to foster strategic partnerships. The first meeting will be held in Bentonville, Arkansas, in the third quarter of 2024.
Network membership will be free and evaluated continuously. Participants will be invited to online and in-person networking events, meet Dunnhumby’s industry experts and access other resources. Seed and early-stage startups may also be considered for direct investment by Dunnhumby Ventures.
Founded in 2013, Dunnhumby Ventures invests in early-stage data and AI-driven retail technology developers. It has nine active portfolio companies including retail media advert service Kevel and last-mile delivery platform Point Pickup.
“The Retail Innovation Network has two overarching goals: (i) to collaboratively break down barriers to innovation that exist in our ecosystem, and (ii) provide its members with direct access to decades of industry expertise and connectivity built across Dunnhumby, Dunnhumby Ventures and its partner ecosystem,” said Leo Nagdas, head of Dunnhumby Ventures and corporate development at Dunnhumby.
“By bringing together the collective ingenuity of startups, best practices of scaled technology partners, and market intelligence and capital of industry investors, we can establish a new gold standard for faster and more integrated ecosystem-led problem solving.”
