Philadelphia artificial intelligence retail startup Invent Analytics has raised $17 million with plans to hire in the region after doubling revenue in 2023.
The Series B funding was led by Los Angeles-based LFX Venture Partners with participation from existing investors European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Collective Spark. The company was founded over a decade ago by Gurhan Kok, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Invent Analytics raised a $7.5 million Series A in December 2022.
The company's platform uses data and AI to help retailers forecast, inform pricing, manage their supply chain and their inventory with the goal of optimizing profit.
Based on Juniper Street in Center City, Invent Analytics has built a substantial outfit since its founding in 2013. It has a headcount of about 300 with four other offices in London, Istanbul, Amsterdam and Dubai. Kok said the company doubled revenue in 2023 and is projected to do so again in 2024. He declined to disclose specific revenue figures.
Invent Analytics counts big-name retailers like Philadelphia-based Five Below, Men's Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank and GNC as part of a customer base of over 35 brands.
The funding will go in part toward adding to the Invent Analytics team, with "the biggest focus" on the Philadelphia-based U.S. team, Kok said. He said the number of new hires he wants to add is dynamic, and he will also look to add some remote workers and people based in Europe as well.
Kok said that Invent Analytics has become more in demand in the high-rate, inflationary environment, as retailers are looking to conserve cash and increase profits wherever possible. Optimizing inventory and retail planning have become more necessary in the current market, according to Kok, and the biggest increase in demand has come from large U.S. retailers.
He added that growth has been "above expectations" from when the company raised its Series A 16 months ago.
"Big retailers, enterprise retailers are looking for AI solutions that could help them make better decisions to be more profitable," Kok said. "As a result we have had a lot of demand both from the U.S. and Europe."
Kok added that investing in innovation in the omnichannel retail experience will also be key for Invent Analytics moving forward. As consumers expect to have a seamless experience ordering items online and picking them up in-store, how companies track inventory will have to evolve as well.
"With omnichannel retailing becoming the norm for a lot of retailers, where the offline and online are merged across their store, fulfillment center and distribution network, we need to continue to innovate," Kok said. "To have more advanced AI capabilities for both forecasting and inventory planning for omnichannel retailers, that's a big area for us."
