Every year seems to be the year when brick-and-mortar stores will catch up to their online peers in terms of technology. Now there’s another tech startup on our radar trying to make that happen.
Aila Technologies[1], formerly known as Padloc, says today it has raised $4.5 million from Romulus Capital, a Boston-based venture firm. That’s an interesting partnership: Romulus has invested in tech startups working in real estate (Placester)[2], healthcare (Cohealo), air travel (Beacon), restaurants (E la Carte), and other traditional-sounding industries.
Natick, MA-based Aila works with companies such as Apple and IBM to develop mobile- and tablet-based kiosks, handheld devices for salespeople, and advertising portals for retail stores. The startup’s customers include Lowe’s, Foot Locker, Whole Foods Market, and Rite Aid.
The five-year-old company is led by CEO and co-founder Jason Gulbinas, who has a background in product design and development. “The shift to mobile devices is happening throughout the store—from the aisle to the check-out to the dressing room,” Gulbinas says in a prepared statement.
Other startup players in retail tech include NewStore[3], which raised $38 million earlier this year for mobile-shopping software; Swirl Networks[4], which raised an $18 million round last spring for beacon-based advertising; Celect[5], which raised $5 million for product-arrangement software; and any number of mobile payment and point-of-sale companies.
Trending on Xconomy
References
- ^ Aila Technologies (ailatech.com)
- ^ (Placester) (www.xconomy.com)
- ^ NewStore (www.xconomy.com)
- ^ Swirl Networks (www.xconomy.com)
- ^ Celect (www.xconomy.com)
