Portuguese startup Sensei has secured €15 million ($16.2 million) in a Series A funding round led by BlueCrow Capital to advance its contactless store technology across Europe. Sensei’s innovative platform leverages computer vision and AI-driven sensors to provide a seamless shopping experience, automatically detecting items in customers’ carts and readying their digital checkout without the need for scanning or interaction with store staff. This autonomous system aims to streamline the retail experience, addressing two major industry challenges: customer satisfaction and real-time sales data processing.
CEO and co-founder Vasco Portugal explained said that retail faces two key issues: a poor customer experience and the difficulty of real-time sales processing. Automation in stores is the next step, similar to what we have witnnessed in cars and factories — a natural evolution. Portugal added that Sensei has experienced rapid growth, particularly in the last year, and plans to reach 1,000 autonomous points of sale by 2026. With operations already established in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Brazil, the company is now eyeing expansion into central and northern Europe.
This funding round saw participation from new investors Lince Capital, Explorer Investments, and Kamay Ventures (supported by Coca-Cola and Arcor Group), alongside existing backers Metro AG and Techstars Ventures. Previous investments include a $6.5 million seed round in 2021, led by Seaya Ventures and Iberis Capital with participation from 200M Fund.
Sensei enters a competitive field that includes well-funded companies such as Standard Cognition, Trigo, Grabango, AiFi, and Zippin, all developing technology for autonomous retail experiences.
Featured image: Credit: Sensei
