Punchh Raises $40 Million in Series C Funding Round

We’re excited to announce that we’ve raised $40 million in Series C funding. Adams Street Partners and Sapphire Ventures led the round, along with participation from AllianceBernstein. Robin Murray of Adams Street Partners will also join Punchh’s board of directors. This new funding represents another major milestone for us in 2019 as the company now reaches over 100 million consumers. 

“Consumers expect ubiquity of experiences online and off. In-store retail remains extremely popular and is one of the most powerful relationship building channels ever created. However, ecommerce has changed expectations for personalization so dramatically that marketers need to incorporate AI in order to remain competitive,” said Shyam Rao, CEO of Punchh. “Our platform gives retailers an unparalleled understanding of how customers engage with their brand in the real world, along with the ability to use that understanding to create AI-powered experiences that keep customers coming back for more.”

With this new round of funding, we will accelerate the development of our customer AI technologies while expanding into new verticals. As part of this expansion, we’re also pleased to announce a partnership with Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY), a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest convenience store brands in the United States, operating 2,100 stores in 16 states throughout the Midwest.

 “Punchh is exciting because they’re constantly pushing the boundaries of how retailers can leverage AI to enhance every step of the customer journey – from new customer acquisition to loyalist activation and beyond,” said Art Sebastian,Vice President of Digital Experience for Casey’s.

With our AI-powered platform, physical retailers build one-to-one customer relationships that grow loyalty, increase their revenue and quickly deliver ROI. Our partners include nearly 200 global enterprise brands in more than 93,000 retail locations across the globe – including Yum! Brands, Denny’s and now Casey’s: our flagship convenience store customer.

“Punchh works with the biggest brands, has the most sophisticated technology, and drives real results for their customers,” said Robin Murray, Partner at Adams Street Partners. “While everyone else got distracted by maximizing ecommerce, Punchh took the best technologies and practices from that space and applied them to physical retail. Now the world is coming back around – just look at Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods – and Punchh is already 10 steps ahead of the game.”

Punchh is the only marketing platform designed to meet the exacting needs of physical retailers and drive same store sales. Brands work from the single platform that applies Punchh’s proprietary AI to their data, delivering all-channel engagement through personalized customer journeys.

“There’s tremendous opportunity in brick-and-mortar retail, and brands are looking for ways to better understand their customers and build data-driven relationships that translate into increased customer lifetime value. Punchh’s solutions allow retailers to do that in a highly scalable manner, which is why they’re trusted by so many leading brands, and why we’re so optimistic on their long-term growth,” said Jai Das, managing director, president and co-founder of Sapphire Ventures.

Founded in 2010, Punchh employes about 300 people across San Mateo, Austin, Toronto, Chennai and Jaipur, and our technology solutions are used across the globe. We’re excited for our recent accomplishments, which also include being recognized on Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant Evaluation of Mobile Marketing Platforms and receiving the 2019 AI Tech Emotion and Behavioral Award.

It’s time to learn more about how Punchh is fueling digital transformation across physical retailers. Contact us today.