Topsort wins W23 funding to boost AI retail media for grocers
Topsort has secured backing from W23, a global venture capital fund supported by Tesco, Ahold Delhaize, Woolworths Group, Empire Company Limited/Sobeys, and Shoprite Group. The investment focuses on Topsort's artificial intelligence-powered and auction-based retail media infrastructure, which aims to extend new advertising capabilities to grocery retailers worldwide.
Grocery sector support
W23 is funded by five major grocery retailers from regions including the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Its mandate is to invest in technology providers and start-ups with the potential to transform grocery retail operations and address sustainability goals.
Topsort's solution enables grocery retailers to operate auction-based retail media networks. The technology is designed to be deployed for sponsored listings, banners, and off-site advertising without substantial engineering resources, making retail media accessible to smaller advertisers.
Advertising simplification
W23 said its investment decision was influenced by Topsort's focus on enabling retailers to reach a broader base of advertisers, particularly those that fall outside the dominant players in digital marketing. Topsort's bidless auction system was highlighted as a differentiator, allowing brands of various sizes to compete for digital shelf space.
"Topsort addresses a key opportunity in the rapidly growing retail media landscape: simplifying advertising to unlock the potential of the vast long-tail advertiser segment," said Ingrid Maes, CEO and CIO, W23 Global. "Their innovative bidless auction technology empowers retailers to expand their media networks, while offering more sellers the chance to effectively reach relevant customers."
Product development
Topsort has recently expanded its product range, moving from supply-side infrastructure to a suite of full-stack retail media solutions. New offerings include a programmatic retail media network that gives advertisers access to inventories across several retailers, a privacy-focused system that digitises in-store shopping behaviour, and an AI-based optimisation engine for mature retail media programmes.
The company lists partnerships with international retailers and marketplaces in multiple regions. Its infrastructure is used to power monetisation strategies in digital retail, creating new revenue channels for shopping platforms and allowing advertisers to access retail audiences at scale.
Retail media growth
The retail media sector continues to grow as grocery chains and retailers seek new ways to generate value from their web traffic and digital properties. By leveraging AI and scalable cloud-based solutions, firms in this space hope to standardise processes across different markets and reduce barriers for smaller brands to participate in retail media campaigns.
"Retail media is entering its AI and scale era, where retailers, marketplaces, brands, and agencies can finally operate in one standardised, transparent, and AI-powered ecosystem," said Regina Ye, Co-Founder and CEO, Topsort. "Being backed by W23 Global, comprising five of the world's leading grocery retailers-Tesco, Ahold Delhaize, Woolworths Group, Empire Company Limited/Sobeys, and Shoprite Group-strengthens Topsort's mission to accelerate a more unified, transparent, and innovation-driven retail media ecosystem across the entire grocery sector."
