Dunnhumby, a UK-based retail analytics company, which is a subsidiary of UK-based supermarket Tesco, has launched Dunnhumby Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focusing on retail technology.
Dave Balter, global head of investments at Dunnhumby, said: “We are looking for retail’s game changers.”
Dunnhumby Ventures, which will be based in Boston, USA, plans to invest $100,000 to $500,000 in approximately 10 companies a year, over the next three years.
The fund already has a portfolio of three US-based startups: Coherent Path, a retail analytics company which maps the evolution of customer preferences; The Shelf, a technology company which identifies online product prices in real-time; and InfoScout, which compares receipts across retailers.
Balter said in a blog post: “We chose to back them because their technologies and business models are part of an absolutely incredible renaissance in retail, defined by the empowered customer having their own personalized experience, when and how they want it.”