Scandit Hits Unicorn Status With Data Capture Tech

Zurich-based Scandit closed a $150 million Series D led by Warburg Pincus that gives the scanning and data capture company a valuation of more than $1 billion — making it Europe’s latest unicorn.

Others participating in the round include existing investors Atomico, Forestay Capital, G2VP, GV, Kreos, NGP Capital, Schneider Electric, Sony Innovation Fund by IGV and Swisscom Ventures. The company, founded in 2009, has raised approximately $300 million to date.

Scandit’s technology enables employees and consumers to use typical smart devices to capture data from barcodes, text and even the physical object itself through computer vision to help automate business processes and provide insights and data.

Basically, imagine an employee scanning shelves with a smart device and being told how much inventory they have of a product, or a consumer receiving reviews of an item they scan.

“We don’t just capture the identity of an item,” said CEO Samuel Mueller. “We can help understand what the camera sees and help businesses make better decisions.”

Big market, big opportunity

While its platform can be used in a warehouse or retail store, its data capture tech also is being used in transportation and logistics, health care, manufacturing and other sectors, said Mueller, adding the company has more than 1,700 customers.

Similar to other markets, Mueller said COVID was an accelerant for the company. With companies facing workforce shortages and supply chain issues, data capture technology such as Scandit’s that increases worker productivity, improves customer engagement and helps with last-mile delivery was in demand.

The company has seen significant growth recently—doubling its annual recurring revenue since raising its Series C in May 2020.

“There is a huge market of use cases for this type of technology,” said Flavio Porciani, managing director at Warburg Pincus, who has been following the company for about three years.

While there are large hardware players in the scanning space, such as Seaward, Mueller said he doesn’t view most as competition since Scandit relies on smart devices people already have.

The 450-person company will use the new round of funding to help push into the Asia-Pacific market, as well as create new products for its portfolio, Mueller said. With its data capture tech and ability to enhance workforces, Muller and the company’s investors feel the company can grow into a large company itself.

“This is mostly white space … It’s the perfect storm, or an inflection point, or whatever term you want to use,” Porciani said.

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias.

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