The company will increase its presence in Ireland, UK and the US, opening new job opportunities.

Advise, a data analytics and AI platform provider for the retail industry, has raised €1.55m to continue its international growth.

The company, which saw a 250pc revenue growth in 2024, said that the funding will support its global expansion, which, it expects will double its headcount in the next 12 to 18 months.

The funding round was led by Business Venture Partners and supported by existing investors, including ACT Venture Capital, Elkstone, Enterprise Ireland, and a group of private investors.

Advise, the trading name for the Dublin-based RecommenderX founded in 2016, provides insights to retail businesses across the supply chain, including in shelving space efficiency, financial performance, revenue growth management and field sales staff. Its clientele includes Pilgrims Europe, Dr Oetker (Ireland) and Britvic.

According to the AI-powered SaaS platform, digital transformation has supported the growth of the global consumer goods market – despite geopolitical uncertainties brought on by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said that its own growth is tied to an increased adoption of digital transformation by businesses.

The newly raised funds will increase the company’s presence in Ireland, the UK and the US, opening up job roles in sales, engineering and data science, the company said.

“For decades, retailers have been leveraging their data to determine product pricing strategies, while manufacturers have lacked the insights to have any meaningful influence,” said Dr Kevin McCarthy, the CEO and co-founder of Advise.

“With pressure on retailers to consistently drive down consumer costs – especially now amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis – this can leave manufacturers with no bargaining chips and very low margins.

“Our easy-to-use AI platform democratises and simplifies the data analytics process and will drive greater competition in retail. It addresses a previously unmet need, and the new funding reflects a market confidence in this solution,” McCarthy added.

While Andrew McGreal, the investment director at Business Venture Partners said: “Retailers and their manufacturers operate in a traditional industry, but with a very complex data ecosystem.

“Historically, this combination made data analytics and the ability to unearth actionable insights at pace a challenge. The Advise platform, built specifically for this purpose and industry, enables better decisions and lightning speed to reveal real insights at a low cost of ownership. It’s a game changer for the industry.”

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