2025-12-23
Trax — turning retail shelves into data streams
For a long time, physical retail remained strangely invisible.
E-commerce knew everything: clicks, funnels, dwell time, conversion paths. But the physical world — shelves, stores, execution, real consumer behavior — stayed largely unmeasured.
Trax was one of the first companies that tried to change this imbalance.
Not by replacing people. Not by automating everything. But by making physical retail measurable. That idea — simple on the surface, difficult in execution — was what caught my attention.
E-commerce knew everything: clicks, funnels, dwell time, conversion paths. But the physical world — shelves, stores, execution, real consumer behavior — stayed largely unmeasured.
Trax was one of the first companies that tried to change this imbalance.
Not by replacing people. Not by automating everything. But by making physical retail measurable. That idea — simple on the surface, difficult in execution — was what caught my attention.
1
Why I invested
In 2021, the retail world was coming out of COVID with two contradictory forces at play.
On one hand, digital accelerated dramatically. On the other, physical retail didn’t disappear — it adapted.
Brands and FMCG companies suddenly needed answers to questions they had never been able to ask precisely:
— Are products placed correctly?
— Are shelves compliant in real time?
— What actually happens between delivery and checkout?
Trax was building infrastructure to answer those questions using computer vision, AI, and large-scale data aggregation — turning shelves, photos, and store visits into structured information.
Not dashboards for curiosity. Operational intelligence.
That’s when I decided to invest.
On one hand, digital accelerated dramatically. On the other, physical retail didn’t disappear — it adapted.
Brands and FMCG companies suddenly needed answers to questions they had never been able to ask precisely:
— Are products placed correctly?
— Are shelves compliant in real time?
— What actually happens between delivery and checkout?
Trax was building infrastructure to answer those questions using computer vision, AI, and large-scale data aggregation — turning shelves, photos, and store visits into structured information.
Not dashboards for curiosity. Operational intelligence.
That’s when I decided to invest.
What Trax does — in practice
Trax applies AI and computer vision directly to the physical retail environment.
Using images captured in stores — by sales reps, merchandisers, or partners — the platform analyzes:
— shelf availability and out-of-stock events
— planogram compliance
— pricing accuracy
— promotional execution
— competitor presence
The result is not just reporting, but actionable data that brands and retailers use to optimize execution across thousands of stores.
Trax doesn’t try to eliminate humans from retail. It gives them visibility they never had.
Using images captured in stores — by sales reps, merchandisers, or partners — the platform analyzes:
— shelf availability and out-of-stock events
— planogram compliance
— pricing accuracy
— promotional execution
— competitor presence
The result is not just reporting, but actionable data that brands and retailers use to optimize execution across thousands of stores.
Trax doesn’t try to eliminate humans from retail. It gives them visibility they never had.
2
The numbers — and the context behind them
I entered Trax in May 2021, post-Series E, at a valuation of approximately $2.2B.
By 2025, secondary market estimates place the valuation around $1.7B — a reset that reflects the broader post-COVID correction across growth and retail-tech companies.
But the operational picture tells a more nuanced story:
— Revenue grew from roughly $220M to ~$320M
— Client base expanded from ~200 to 350+ global brands and retailers
— Geographic presence increased from 15 to 25 regions
— EBITDA turned positive
Trax now employs over 1,000 people across 20+ countries and operates at the intersection of FMCG, retail analytics, and in-store automation.
It’s not a hypergrowth story anymore. It’s an infrastructure story.
By 2025, secondary market estimates place the valuation around $1.7B — a reset that reflects the broader post-COVID correction across growth and retail-tech companies.
But the operational picture tells a more nuanced story:
— Revenue grew from roughly $220M to ~$320M
— Client base expanded from ~200 to 350+ global brands and retailers
— Geographic presence increased from 15 to 25 regions
— EBITDA turned positive
Trax now employs over 1,000 people across 20+ countries and operates at the intersection of FMCG, retail analytics, and in-store automation.
It’s not a hypergrowth story anymore. It’s an infrastructure story.
3
The competitive landscape
By 2025, the retail analytics and automation space looks very different from what it did five years ago.
— Trax focuses on scalable AI and deep retail partnerships
— RetailNext emphasizes sensors and foot-traffic analytics, with a narrower scope
— Standard AI built autonomous checkout systems, but with heavy hardware dependency
— Amazon Just Walk Out remains a closed, internal ecosystem
Trax occupies a distinct position.
It doesn’t own the store. It doesn’t lock clients into proprietary hardware. It integrates into existing retail operations and scales through data.
That flexibility is both its strength — and its challenge.
— Trax focuses on scalable AI and deep retail partnerships
— RetailNext emphasizes sensors and foot-traffic analytics, with a narrower scope
— Standard AI built autonomous checkout systems, but with heavy hardware dependency
— Amazon Just Walk Out remains a closed, internal ecosystem
Trax occupies a distinct position.
It doesn’t own the store. It doesn’t lock clients into proprietary hardware. It integrates into existing retail operations and scales through data.
That flexibility is both its strength — and its challenge.
4
Evolution since entry
Between 2021 and 2025, Trax transitioned from growth mode into maturity.
The market demanded profitability instead of promises. Efficiency instead of expansion at any cost.
Trax adapted.
Revenue increased steadily. Client relationships deepened. The business shifted from experimentation to repeatable execution.
Most importantly, the company proved that AI in physical retail is not a gimmick — it’s a necessary layer.
Not flashy. Foundational.
The market demanded profitability instead of promises. Efficiency instead of expansion at any cost.
Trax adapted.
Revenue increased steadily. Client relationships deepened. The business shifted from experimentation to repeatable execution.
Most importantly, the company proved that AI in physical retail is not a gimmick — it’s a necessary layer.
Not flashy. Foundational.
How I see Trax today
Trax is not the kind of company that dominates headlines.
It doesn’t redefine consumer behavior overnight. It doesn’t create new habits.
Instead, it quietly changes how decisions are made inside large organizations.
It turns intuition into data. Assumptions into measurements. Physical reality into something readable.
That kind of impact takes time to be appreciated.
It doesn’t redefine consumer behavior overnight. It doesn’t create new habits.
Instead, it quietly changes how decisions are made inside large organizations.
It turns intuition into data. Assumptions into measurements. Physical reality into something readable.
That kind of impact takes time to be appreciated.
Why I’m sharing this
From time to time, I revisit investments from my portfolio — not to celebrate returns or explain drawdowns, but to understand why they mattered.
Some companies move markets. Others change how industries operate from the inside.
Trax belongs to the second group.
It didn’t replace humans. It didn’t eliminate stores. It made the physical world legible.
And in a data-driven economy, that’s more powerful than it sounds.
This investment was made as part of my work within the Digital Disrupt venture club — a community focused on identifying technologies that quietly reshape industries and decision-making processes.
In 2021, Trax felt like a smart retail bet. In 2025, it feels like infrastructure.
Sometimes progress isn’t loud. It’s measurable.
Some companies move markets. Others change how industries operate from the inside.
Trax belongs to the second group.
It didn’t replace humans. It didn’t eliminate stores. It made the physical world legible.
And in a data-driven economy, that’s more powerful than it sounds.
This investment was made as part of my work within the Digital Disrupt venture club — a community focused on identifying technologies that quietly reshape industries and decision-making processes.
In 2021, Trax felt like a smart retail bet. In 2025, it feels like infrastructure.
Sometimes progress isn’t loud. It’s measurable.