Technology

Standard Cognition raises $150M, teams with Compass Group and Circle K on autonomous checkout

A customer makes a purchase at a Charlotte store using Standard Cognition technology. Image courtesy of Standard Cognition.

February 18, 2021

Standard Cognition, which provides an autonomous checkout solution that can be quickly installed in retailers' existing stores, has raised a $150 million round of Series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from existing investors CRV, EQT Ventures and TI Platform Management, and new investors SK Networks and others, according to a press release.

The company is working with customers such as Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc. (parent company of global convenience store brand Circle K) and Compass Group to outfit hundreds of checkout-free stores in 2021 and beyond, with a goal of more than 50,000 stores in the next five years.

"Checkout-free technology has brought a new experience to our retail environment. Through our partnership with Standard, we've transformed a current store into a completely frictionless operation, and we're excited to retrofit more stores in the near future," Charles Pereira, vice president of operations for Chartwells Higher Ed, a division of Compass Group, said in the release.

Consisting primarily of ceiling-mounted cameras that can detect which items a person picks up, Standard's system uses no facial recognition and lets shoppers remain completely anonymous. It can be installed in existing stores without making any changes to layout, shelving, lighting or inventory management processes.

In recent months, Standard has landed customers including Circle K, and worked with customer Compass Group to open its first public stores at the University of Houston and in office buildings in Charlotte and Toronto.