Veesion, which develops AI-based solutions for the retail sector based on gesture recognition, reports that it has closed a EUR 38 million Series B funding round led by White Star Capital, with participation from Red River West and Bpifrance, and existing investors Odyssée Ventures, Verve Ventures and Founders Future renewing their commitment.
Founded in 2018, Veesion was created to solve the problem of theft in the retail sector, which lacks effective technological tools to counter it, unlike e-commerce, which can rely on advanced solutions to protect margins and prevent fraud. In physical shops, cameras are everywhere, but the footage is almost never analysed, due to lack of time, staff or resources.
After three years of research and development, the founders of Veesion have created an AI for the physical world, designed to support merchants with real-time alerts and decision-making tools. Veesion’s solution analyses live video streams, detecting suspicious gestures without recognising faces, storing biometric data or violating privacy. It is now deployed in 25 countries and is used by over five thousand retailers, from independent shops to large chains, who report immediate reductions in losses and improvements in margins of up to 50%.
Veesion entered Italy in 2022, which quickly became its second market after France. With around 600 active customers, the company works with clients such as Eurospin, Carrefour Express, Despar, Conad and other retail chains.
The concrete impact and global presence of Veesion’s technology offering convinced White Star Capital, Red River West and Bpifrance to join the existing investors. This EUR 38 million Series B round, plus approximately EUR 15 million in non-dilutive financing, brings the total raised by the company to EUR 53 million. This is a strategic milestone for Veesion, with a double objective: accelerating international growth and developing new high-potential applications.
In the short term, the company will open a subsidiary in the United States, a high-demand market that already accounts for 10% of turnover. One of the co-founders will directly lead the expansion from the local office. In parallel, the company will continue to invest in research and development and plans to hire around 100 new employees, adding to the current team of over 150.
Veesion is thus entering a new phase of development, extending its gesture recognition technology to new areas, both in retail and beyond. Indeed, in-store applications such as on-shelf incident detection, replenishment management or customer journey optimisation are growing rapidly, paving the way for even wider adoption. In the near future, Veesion’s AI will be deployed in new contexts, such as warehouses, hospitals, kindergartens, RSAs, construction sites, to help professionals make spaces and activities safer, more organised and efficient.
The goal is to become the benchmark in AI for interpreting human gestures and transforming the management of physical environments.
“We founded Veesion with a unique AI solution that helps retailers identify high-risk behaviour and will offer a full range of management and decision-making tools in the future. This round will enable us to further structure ourselves, accelerate our international development and hire the best talent. We are proud to welcome these new investors into Veesion’s adventure and the renewed confidence of our historical partners,’ says Thibault David, CEO and co-founder of Veesion (pictured with fellow co-founder and COO Benoit Koenig), in a note.
“A pioneer in its field, with a perfectly scalable AI model and a fully integrated solution, Veesion is a revolutionary solution for the retail sector,” adds Matthieu Lattes, general partner at White Star Capital. “As the company continues to grow, its AI-based security solution is set to make retail spaces safer around the world. We are excited to support Veesion’s next phase of growth and international expansion’.
“Veesion has developed advanced gesture recognition technology that brings artificial intelligence into the physical world. The initial goal was to support retailers in effectively combating inventory loss, one of the main issues affecting margins in the industry,’ says Luc-Emmanuel Barreau, partner at Red River West – After three years of rapid growth, this ambitious funding round will enable Veesion to scale even faster in its key markets, particularly in the US, where a dedicated subsidiary is planned to be opened.”
“With its unique proprietary dataset and unparalleled accuracy, Veesion is the only solution that can detect gestures associated with theft in real time. The company is redefining security standards in the retail sector and has all the makings of a market leader in the US. We are proud to support Veesion’s international growth through our Digital Venture fund,’ says Tuan Tran, senior investment director at Bpifrance.
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