SandStar Named to the 2020 CB Insights Retail Tech 100 -- List of Most Innovative B2B Retail Startups

NEW YORK, December 3, 2020 (Newswire.com) - CB Insights today named SandStar to its inaugural Retail Tech 100 ranking, which showcases the 100 most promising B2B retail tech companies in the world.

The 2020 Retail Tech 100 cohort highlights startups reimagining the retail experience across 13 categories, from e-commerce infrastructure to supply chain automation and cashierless checkout. 21 countries represented this year include India, China, Canada, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, among others.

“The rate of change in retail is accelerating, and the Retail Tech 100 showcases the tech companies that are changing every facet of retail - from store automation to supply chain robotics to personalized merchandise discovery. Spanning 13 distinct technology markets, they address key challenges retailers face today while also helping them adapt and be ready for changing consumer habits,” said CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal. “The honorees also underscore the fact that the best technologies driving retail transformation may come from anywhere as they hail from 21 countries ranging from Canada to Singapore to Brazil to Sweden. As we head into 2021, we are excited to see the impact the Retail Tech 100 will have on customers, retailers, and markets.”

“SandStar is focused on supporting our retail customers thrive with truly frictionless self-checkout experience,” said Yili Wu, founder and CEO of SandStar. “We are thrilled to be named to the CB Insights Retail Tech 100 and look forward to continuing our mission to transform traditional vending to AI-enabled unattended retailing with cutting-edge computer vision technology.”

Through an evidence-based approach, the CB Insights research team selected the Retail Tech 100 from nearly 15,000 applications and nominees, based on several factors including patent activity, business relations, investor profiles, news sentiment analysis, proprietary Mosaic scores, market potential, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty. The Mosaic Score, based on CB Insights’ algorithm, measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies to help predict a company’s momentum.

Founded in 2016, SandStar leverages computer vision and deep learning to digitize the retail industry. The company provides Smart Kiosks, Unattended Smart Shops, and Smart Store Analytics. The advanced retail solutions engage shoppers like never before with grab-and-go convenience, autonomous checkout and big data analytics, serving businesses worldwide. 

Quick facts on the 2020 Retail Tech 100:

●      The 2020 Retail Tech 100 startups have raised over $14B in total equity funding across 400+ deals from 700+ unique investors. Over half of these companies have raised funding in 2020 (as of 11/20), amounting to $4.7B in total.

●      The list includes 19 unicorns (companies that have reached a valuation of $1B+) focused on a diverse range of retail tech solutions.

●      There are 21 early-stage startups (seed/angel and Series A) in this year’s cohort.

●      Majority of these companies are based in North America (59%), followed by Asia (21%), Europe (16%), and Latin America (4%). Among countries, the US leads with 55 companies.

The Retail Tech 100 Companies (in alphabetical order):