Why we decided to double-down on Scandit

Scandit has recently announced its $150M Series D at a company valuation in excess of $1B valuation, officially entering the Unicorn club! And it’s a Swiss company, making us even more proud to have been part of this exciting journey since Summer 2020, when we decided to make our first investment. We wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on why we became a Scanditos in the first place, and why we have decided to keep supporting the company in its most recent fundraise, which was led by Warburg Pincus.

The Zurich-based scaleup enables businesses to accelerate their digital transformation, something that was made notably more important in the pandemic-stressed supply chain and manufacturing sectors. Organizations use Scandit’s unique computer vision technology to power mobile apps or websites for mobile shopping, self-checkout, inventory management, proof of delivery, asset tracking and maintenance.

Underneath Scandit’s product resides the most advanced computer vision technology, transforming any camera-equipped smart device into a powerful and best-in-class barcode scanning, text and object recognition machine, coupled with real-time insights through augmented reality (AR). We were really impressed by the level of engineering involved in developing the technology based on research at leading institutions such as ETHZ, MIT and IBM Research. It just works! And there is no room for error when it comes to speed and accuracy in the targeted use cases.

We were also very excited by the quality of the management team and execution drive. Samuel (CEO) is an exceptional leader. Not only does he have deep technical expertise, but he’s also a visionary, knowing where he wants to bring Scandit and, most importantly, how to do it. The level of maturity regarding the growth strategy, product roadmap, culture, and governance is rarely seen in such a young company. This convinced us that we would be partnering with a winning team.

The market opportunity addressed by the company is massive: +$30B market size. Most importantly, Scandit is disrupting the way organizations capture data, served until now by legacy players and handgun barcode scanners that are inflexible and more expensive. Mobile computer vision is becoming more prominent, supported by solid underlying drivers, such as ease of use, lower total cost of ownership, BYOD trends and AR overlays. The product-market fit was established, and it was a no-brainer that Scandit was well-positioned to cement its leadership position.

Combining a robust product, top-notch leadership team and large addressable market with strong underlying drivers, Scandit has managed to grow at an impressive pace over the last few years. Indeed, since the May 2020 Series C in which we first invested, it has more than doubled its annual recurring revenue and now has over 1,700 global customers including American Eagle Outfitters, NHS, Carrefour, Toyota, Yamato Transport and Sephora. That trend looks set to continue, we believe, with still a large untapped potential in terms of geographical expansion and diversification across additional verticals.

The flawless execution of the leadership team, coupled with its disruptive technology, has convinced us that Scandit is ready to keep expanding and become the #1 player in mobile computer vision for the enterprise. Samuel and his team have really impressed us since our first investment. That’s why we have decided to double-down on Scandit in its Series D.

We are thrilled to be part of this journey and can’t wait to see what’s next!