I am a young driven entrepreneur. I am looking for 200.000 EUR for the growth of the SCO check service (self-scan checkout) of our company. To support a full growth an amount of 500.000 EUR is needed, but I already have invested 300.000 EUR myself. Our company delivers real-time scan avoidance detection at self-checkouts with checkout visual AI.

I would like to point out that this artificial intelligence software can be used to expand the use of self-checkout in more diverse retail sectors (DIY, fashion, transportation hubs (Airports, railroads, etc.)). Thereby there is a growing interest in applying Visual AI in sectors outside of retail (Smart Cities, etc.). So this is just the beginning of the growth, which has very high potential. Our company has a very strong and big track record with big names like, ACTION, ALBERT HEIJN, JUMBO, CARREFOUR GLOBAL, PRIMARK, LIDL NL, Groupe Casino and more.

A detailed file about this Breakthrough Technology is available. In 2021 that our company was ranked among the top 5 Visual AI disruptive technology providers in Europe.

Business model:

Marketing:

• Continual marketing via web
• Email campaigns
• Trade Fair presence (EUROSHOP, EUROCIS, Paris Retail Week)
• Technology Partner Client Events
• LinkedIn and direct marketing call campaigns
• Leveraging existing sector contacts
• Physical demonstrations of self-checkouts with checkout visual AI on-site in client and fair installations.

These activities have all combined facilitated ongoing client contacts from Mexico to Thailand. This is borne out by recent extended and continued meetings with retail market leaders such as Carrefour and Auchan where interest in the concept of our self-checkouts has been significant, with some clients opting for sampling in the first instance to understand how Visual AI would be implemented in their IT environment since SCO-Check follows the same installation model and IT infrastructure.

Key steps needed to bring self-checkouts to market:

• Enginering the existing algorithm to the specific requirements of retail client self-checkout process to detect scan avoidance. This requires an estimated 3 months of AI software engineering time to process up to 20.000 customer SCO transactions to be financed.
• A further 2 months is then needed to be able to adapt to universal hardware and format requirements to ensure the multicultural and international team is one of our great strengths of us that has already achieved the positioning of our AI Video Analytics solutions with a number of the world’s top retailers.

Our company already has a very large and strong track record within the retail world. With proven sales, and a great also for bringing the best service and product to the market. With these years of experience in the market, we are always working with the biggest player in the market.

USP’s:

• Stand-alone Solution.
• The ideation of self-checkouts is for connectivity to, not integration with, multi-brand SCO ePOS platforms.
• It does not require compatibility and costly integration in multi-generational and complex ePOS transaction software.
• This delivers significant savings in software engineering, and infrastructure costs, and reduces the total cost of ownership when compared to alternatives.
• The self-checkouts are designed to automatically monitor the correct process, not individual items or their product descriptions, through their ability to detect, count, and track objects in real time and then deliver an instant notification when exceptions to expected process and behavior are detected (e.g. items not being scanned correctly).
• Our solutions have been shown to increase net profits for food retailers by up to 19%….

Investment need:

Throughout 2022 as this company has established a more global presence with a specific focus on self-checkout are major retail chains in Food, DIY and Fashion in France, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Thailand, Austria, and Italy amongst others. Chains include Casino, FranPrix, Geant, Costco Mexico, Chedraui, Carrefour Global, Auchan Global, Schwarz Group, Obi, dm drogerie, Primark, Kiabi and Ahold. A combined group that represents upwards of 100.000 self-checkout terminals. Therefore the required capital is used to support the growth of new customers.

We supply both the software and the hardware.

Experience founder(s):

The founders track record is noted for success in loss prevention solutions development and delivery using “traditional technologies” and more recently as the innovator behind the first VisualOur Visual AI solution are built on 20 years of experience in sectors such as Aerospace and Satellite Imagery, environments with the highest demands for accuracy.

Other relevant information:

Expanding the use of self-checkout use in more diverse retail sectors (DIY, Fashion, Transport hubs (Airports, Railways etc.). Growth of our selfscan solution is CAGR 15% to 2029. Expanding demand for Visual AI solutions for different retail applications apart from the checkout zone.

The growing interest in the application of Visual AI to Sectors outside of Retail (Smart Cities etc.) with very few competitors and no comparable cost-effective alternative solution on the market makes this business case even more interesting.