Grabango
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Grabango was a Berkeley, California-based provider of checkout-free technology for grocery and convenience retailers, founded in 2016 by Will Glaser, the co-founder of music streaming service Pandora. Its patented solution combined hardware, on-premise and cloud computing and AI-powered computer vision to track shoppers, products and store layouts, letting customers shop without waiting in checkout lines. It also provided analytics on out-of-stocks, conversion rates, dwell times and heat maps.
02 / Grabango FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors
Grabango spokesperson said the Berkeley checkout-free startup could not secure the funding needed to continue serving clients and was shutting down after being unable to raise enough money to stay afloat.
Company stated it was unable to raise / secure the funding needed to stay afloat and continue serving clients.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
Grabango announced it was permanently closing / discontinuing operations after failing to secure financing; spokesperson said it could not raise enough money to stay afloat.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Grabango was launched in 2016 by Will Glaser to build checkout-free technology for grocery and convenience retailers.
- 02
In June 2021 it raised its largest round, $39 million led by Commerce Ventures with Founders Fund and the venture arms of Unilever and Honeywell, bringing total funding to over $73 million.
- 03
The company signed deals with retailers including Aldi, Circle K, Giant Eagle, 7-Eleven and Chevron, and cut its workforce in 2023.
- 04
On October 9, 2024 a company spokesperson confirmed Grabango was ceasing operations after failing to secure the funding needed to continue serving clients.