RX Ventures, a Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) fund of Lojas Renner S.A., announced a strategic investment in Topsort, a startup based in Silicon Valley, California, specializing in digital media solutions for retail (retail media) using artificial intelligence. This is the fifth investment of the fund, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and continuous improvement of the consumer experience, as well as generating new business opportunities for the sector.
The decision to invest in Topsort was made after a detailed analysis of the market by RX Ventures and Lojas Renner.The choice for the startup is due to the functionality, simplicity and scalability of its solutions. Lojas Renner believes that the partnership will allow a deeper understanding of the evolution of digital media and its possible applications in retail.
The investment was made in a Series A round earlier this year, led by Upload Ventures, with the participation of managers Pear VC and Quiet Capital, who were already investors in Topsort. This contribution is aligned with the thesis of RX Ventures to bet on technologies that shape the future of retail.
“We are the first retailer specialized in fashion and lifestyle in the world to invest in Topsort, which reaffirms our commitment to drive the transformation of the sector. This movement has a strategic and long-term sense, as it will allow us to closely monitor the new retail media trends and understand how it can, in the future, help us develop new promising fronts of business”, commented Daniel Santos, Financial and Investor Relations Director at Lojas Renner.
Francisco Larrain, CTO of Topsort, also highlighted the importance of the partnership: “This movement marks the beginning of a joint journey of innovation in retail media.We are happy to join a partner with enormous sector knowledge and proximity to startups from different areas. The Brazilian market is full of opportunities and we are committed to empowering local retailers with our scalable and affordable technology. Our goal is to democratize advertising in a post-cookie era. This is an important step to boost our mission in Brazil
Founded in 2021, Topsort is led by co-founders Regina Ye, Michael Ostrovsky and Francisco Larrain, who have extensive scientific knowledge and are global references in retail media. The startup solutions are already used in more than 30 countries, serving clients such as Poshmark, Cencosud, Oeschle, Liverpool, Sodimac and Wayfair.
Daniel Santos added: “Just as Topsort has valuable technical knowledge to share, we know that Lojas Renner is also able to actively contribute to the startup, using its brand strength and experience in the omni operation.There are numerous synergies that can be exploited from this partnership, with benefits for all retail.”
With this investment, Lojas Renner S.A. and Topsort begin a collaboration that promises to transform the digital media landscape in retail, bringing innovations and new opportunities to the Brazilian market.
