Accel Robotics Closes SoftBank-Led $30M Series A

Accel Robotics raised $30 million in Series A funding, the San Diego startup announced yesterday. I'm getting the feeling that SoftBank, which led the round, likes robotics.

Accel is developing automated, cashierless store tech, including:

• Computer vision to scan inventory
• Sensors to detect when an item's been taken from the shelf
• AI and cloud computing to power scan-and-go turnstiles and a checkout-free shopping experience

The four-year-old company has kept a low profile; its only tweet before yesterday was "Hello world." in 2015. But Accel said it's already deploying its tech in grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores in North America and Japan.

Looking ahead

Accel will use the funding to scale operations—which it better do quickly. Competition in cashierless tech includes Grabango, Skip, Trigo, AiFi, and Standard Cognition. And we haven't even mentioned the big players. Amazon has ambitious plans for its cashierless Go stores, while Microsoft and Walmart are also dabbling in the space.