Retail Aware Closes Oversubscribed Venture Round Led by Cleveland Avenue’s CAST US Fund

CHICAGO, IL. (December 7, 2021) — Retail Aware announces expansion plans thanks to a latest round of capital investment, bringing total funding to over $4MM to date. The round was anchored by the Cleveland Avenue State Treasurer’s Urban Success Fund ‘CAST  US Fund’, a $70M initiative focused on bridging the capital and resource gap impacting Black, Latinx and women entrepreneurs in Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods. Participation also included major investor First Mile, and roster of Chicago firms: Bridge Investments, Lofty Ventures, Relish Works, Company First, in addition to a previous investment led by Newstack Ventures.

“Retail Aware’s partnerships with industry-leading brands and national retailers are a strong indication of the company’s ability to drive significant growth in 2022 and beyond. We are excited to have them become part of our CAST US portfolio.” said Andrea Zopp, Managing Partner, CAST US Fund.

Retail Aware provides retail brands with better measurement of in-store marketing tactics through access to real-time data and insights. Using sense technology and an award-winning AI engine, Retail Aware allows marketers to take action faster and to accelerate return on their investment.

By focusing on shelf-level and display data, Retail Aware is disrupting an industry nearly left behind by the tech evolution. The solution has been implemented in thousands of locations worldwide with rapid expansion led by leading global brands and retailers.

“‘Omnichannel’ has become a ubiquitous marketing strategy, but how do brand teams measure it if they’re missing in-store impressions, display compliance numbers, or lift data? The pandemic revealed so many nuances to the in-store experience, and we’re seeing results translating those insights for our customers,” says Keith Fix, CEO and Co-Founder of Retail Aware. “Physical retail is not dead - not by a long shot - and we’re bringing the tech necessary for its glow-up.”

The latest round of funding will enable Retail Aware to scale both sales and operations to keep up with outsized client demand. While the team remains distributed, Retail Aware is expanding its Chicago presence to build upon ties with Chicago based brands, investors, and local based team.

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