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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Xpand raises $6m to support autonomous retail stores growth
Israel-headquartered retail technology startup Xpand has raised $6m in a funding round to expand its AI-powered autonomous retail stores globally. The investment, led by Ibex Investors and Emerge, will support the launch of Xpand's first smart autonomous store in Vienna, Austria, and 'the company's plan to expand access to efficient, frictionless retail infrastructure worldwide'. The new funding will be instrumental for Xpand as it enters the next phase of growth, with a focus on the deployment of its "store-in-a-box" units. The modular stores operate without staff, using robotics, computer vision and real-time inventory management to provide a 24/7 shopping experience. The new capital will expedite the rollout of stores across Europe and North America, as well as expanding the company's sales, marketing and technology teams. The executive team's participation in the funding round included chairman and CEO Joel Bar-El. Bar-El, who co-founded Trax Retail, brings industry expertise to the company, along with other senior team members from SAP, Retalix, Bringg and Magic Leap. 'With this new investment, we are ready to move from vision to global execution,' Bar-El stated. 'The Vienna store is only the beginning. Our leadership team is deeply committed to bringing scaleable, autonomous retail to life.' Xpand was originally founded as 1MRobotics in 2021. It underwent rebranding to better represent its transition from research and development to commercialisation. Bar-El added: 'Our mission is to power the next generation of retail - autonomous, scaleable, and always on. We are excited to partner with global retailers to bring this model to life.' "Xpand raises $6m to support autonomous retail stores growth" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Israeli Startup Xpand Raises $6M to Launch Autonomous Retail Stores Worldwide
TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 10, 2025-- Xpand, a retail technology startup building autonomous, AI-powered retail stores, today announced it has raised $6 million in a funding round led by IbexInvestors and Emerge. The company's executive team, including Chairman and CEO Joel Bar-El, also participated, signaling strong internal alignment and confidence in the company's strategic direction. The new funding will support Xpand's next phase of growth, beginning with the launch of its first smart autonomous store in Vienna. This milestone marks a major step in the company's plan to expand access to efficient, frictionless retail infrastructure worldwide. 'With this new investment, we are ready to move from vision to global execution,' said Joel Bar-El, CEO of Xpand. 'The Vienna store is only the beginning. Our leadership team is deeply committed to bringing scalable, autonomous retail to life.' Xpand develops modular 'store-in-a-box' units that integrate robotics, computer vision, and real-time inventory management. These unmanned plug-and-play stores are designed to operate 24/7 without staff, giving retailers a fast, flexible way to grow their footprint and provide a seamless, personalized shopping experience. Founded in 2021 under the name 1MRobotics, the company was rebranded as Xpand to reflect its shift from research and development to commercial deployment. The new capital will accelerate store rollouts across Europe and North America and fund the expansion of the company's sales, marketing, and technology teams. Xpand is led by a team of seasoned operators and entrepreneurs with deep roots in retail, logistics, and enterprise technology. Bar-El previously co-founded Trax Retail, a global retail AI unicorn. Other senior team members bring experience from leading companies including SAP, Retalix, Bringg, and Magic Leap. 'Our mission is to power the next generation of retail - autonomous, scalable, and always on,' said Bar-El. 'We are excited to partner with global retailers to bring this model to life.' View source version on CONTACT: Media Contact Yael Costi [email protected] KEYWORD: AUSTRIA EUROPE ISRAEL MIDDLE EAST INDUSTRY KEYWORD: START-UP DATA MANAGEMENT OTHER RETAIL TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SUPERMARKET ROBOTICS CONVENIENCE STORE RETAIL SOFTWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOURCE: Xpand Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 08/10/2025 02:29 AM/DISC: 08/10/2025 02:30 AM
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
The Big Picture: The US is in economic strife and investors should look further afield
In our new regular series honing in on macroeconomics and other matters of pertinence for investors, we bring you perspectives from respected investment advisor Jason Coggins. The US has lost its status as the world's go-to economy and investors should look to Europe in particular While the US (rightly) will try to reign in its rampant budget deficit, Europe is on a fiscal expansion drive and that will spur growth When it comes to tariffs, Trump has overplayed his hand with China No matter how the Trump revolution pans out, the US has lost its status as the leading world economy and financial epicentre. For investors, that means that returns there won't stack up relative to the elevated risks they need to take – and better geographies beckon. That's the view of respected investment adviser Jason Coggins, who holds multiple high-level advisory roles at leading private boutique firms. These include head of product strategy at Ellerston Capital, chair of Intium Capital's investment committee and an advisory board member at the Denver, Colorado-based Ibex Investors. He has also held senior roles at Koda Capital and the ANZ Bank's wealth division. Typically, Coggins says, Australians are overexposed to the US market and 'massively short' of a presence in Europe and Asia. Not surprisingly, his clients are keen for his views on the new world order. That's the new regime that has transformed the US from a safe harbour, to one where interest rate gyrations sometimes have resembled those in emerging markets. 'You would be taking a big risk to double down on the US,' he says. 'You really are not being compensated for the risks right now. 'US valuations are still expensive historically and if there's bad news is vulnerable to a further fall.' Europe is no longer a PIIG with lipstick The Trump ascendancy – notable the declaration of a tariff war and a geopolitical reversion to isolationism – has been well examined. But Coggins says the flipside – how the rest of the world is responding – has gone under the radar. He notes the dichotomy between US and Europe on fiscal and monetary policy, with both geographies departing from their historic norms. In the US, the Trump mantra is about raising revenue (from tariffs) to reign in the crippling budget deficit, which has been allowed to balloon by successive administrations. 'Spending was way too high and Trump is embarking on a fiscal detox to reduce the deficit,' he says. 'While that measure is understandable, it will affect growth.' In contrast, Europe has embarked on fiscal loosening – led by the historically austere Germany, the Continent's most powerful economy. 'Germany has very low growth, with an inherent fear of hyperinflation dating back to the 1930s ,' Coggins says. Post its recent federal election, Germany has committed to ramping up spending on infrastructure and defence – and its European peers are in lockstep with this strategy. 'Germany is going to spend money and even if they have ridiculous deficit for the next five to 10 years.' He adds that Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain bear little resemblance to their poor shape during the 2009-1014 European banking and debt crisis, when they were dubbed the PIIGs (this derogatory acronym included Ireland). 'Even low-growth Italy has a reformist government,' Coggins says. 'Europe now is efficient and working. In fact, the amount of economic reform they have done puts Australia to shame.' Therefore, Europe's hitherto sluggish growth could surprise the pundits. Don't forget me, old China China, meanwhile, is not without levers of its own in terms of inducing economic growth and negotiating the impact of Trump's tariffs, no matter where they settle. This month, the People's Bank of China cuts its benchmark seven-day rate from 1.5% to 1.4% and reduced the level of reserves commercial banks are required to carry. Combined, the measures should boost the availability of money to stimulate the economy. Auspiciously, Chinese president Xi Jinping has not exactly rushed to Washington to beg for a trade deal and kiss the ring of 'Pope Trump', as portrayed in a president-endorsed meme. 'It would be very risky to dismiss China,' he says. 'For all the fuss over trade wars, only 16% of Chinese exports go to the US. China is not going to be bullied, that's not the way to negotiate with them.' Courting the tech giants Coggins adds that China is now courting the tech companies, having earlier put local exemplars such as Alibaba and Tencent Holdings in the freezer for espousing bourgeois values. 'There's been a big move to reinstate the tech sector as the primary growth driver,' he says. 'The Chinese are now good – if not better – than the US when it comes to tech.' Remember the shock waves in February when China's Deep Seek revealed it could produce artificial intelligence at a fraction of the cost of US leader Nvidia? 'The top 1% of Chinese scientists engineers and innovators are superior to the top 1% in the US.' Using its heft in centralised economy, Beijing should also be expected to implement other policies to foster growth on the back of the nation's domestic consumption. US market 'over loved and over loaned' As for the US, Coggins sees a prevalence of markets volatility and currency 'noise' until around February next year, ahead of November's Congressional mid-term elections. With the Republicans holding a slender three-seat majority in the Senate, Congress expects increasing pressure on the White House to temper radical policies on tariffs and cutting public spending. Coggins describes the US market as 'massively over loved and over loaned'. Last year US stocks accounted for 75% of the MSCI world index – dominance not seen since Japan's economic emergence in the 1980. 'People were buying the US dollar and US equities, especially high-growth tech stocks,' Coggins says. 'The problem is, Trump has spurred the biggest move in 30-year bond yields since the 1980s and the biggest move in 10-year yields since the tech wreck.' In other words: the market isn't betting on lower interest rates, despite the spectre of inflation or even stagflation (high inflation and unemployment) in a recession. 'If Trump does put massive tariffs on, US inflation will rise rapidly,' Coggins says. 'China will redirect exports bound to the US to places like Australia, Europe and the rest of Asia. 'This will reduce inflation elsewhere, while creating inflation in the US.' Ultimately, Coggins' call is to be underweight the US dollar and US equities, notably the mega caps such as the Magnificent Seven tech stocks. 'In the next five years, the US will be one of the worst performing markets globally.' You heard it here first.
