Alkemics raises $22M from Cathay Innovation, Serena Capital and existing investors to digitize collaboration between manufacturers and retailers

May 4, 2020
Europe

PARIS, FRANCE (September 12, 2016). Alkemics, the collaborative platform for retail, announced today that it has closed a Series B financing round of $22 million. This round is led by Cathay Innovation and Serena Capital, with participation from Index Ventures, Partech Ventures, and SEB Alliance, investors who have renewed their confidence in Alkemics after a Series A round of $5.6 million in early 2015.  This latest round is one of 10 largest in 2016 for the French technology sector, and will allow Alkemics to accelerate deployment of its platform internationally and strengthen its sales, marketing and technology resources as it continues to support customers in their digital transformation efforts.

Alkemics’ commitment to customer success through digital collaboration has fueled its growth.  Since its last fundraising round, the number of CPG manufacturers connecting to retailers across Alkemics has more than tripled. Today, that community includes over 2,500 brands, including global firms such as Unilever and Mars Incorporated, with leading retailers such as Walmart. Alkemics is also certified on the GDSN 3.1 industry standard from GS1, which allows brands to publish digital product data worldwide, and has been recognized by Gartner as a 2016 Cool Vendor for Information Innovation and Governance.

“From the beginning, Alkemics shared a clear understanding of our common goal – leveraging digital technology to deliver a rich, consistent shopping experience for our consumers,” commented Romain David, e-Commerce Leader at Unilever France.  “Their agile approach to innovation and data management has served as a catalyst for stronger collaboration between our own teams and with our retail partners.”

Alkemics believes that digital collaboration is at the heart of retail. With more products sold through more channels and more product information required to meet shopper demand, brands and retailers need to work together around data that is accurate, structured, and synchronized so it’s never obsolete.  

Its SaaS platform simplifies how brands and retailers collect, manage, and share product data, streamlining collaboration among internal teams and with trading partners. “By working together, our customers increase speed to market for their products and deliver an improved shopper experience through richer, more consistent information,” said Antoine Durieux , founder and CEO of Alkemics.

Jacky Abitbol, Partner at Cathay Innovation, and Ming-Po Cai, President of Cathay Capital Private Equity, said, “In many industries, digital is a proven catalyst for growth and has become its own commercial channel.  We’re convinced by the quality of the Alkemics team and its ability to quickly scale a collaborative digital platform between brands and retailers through a network effect that creates new marketing opportunities at local, national and international levels.”

“The Alkemics platform allows brands and retailers to have a single provider for data sharing products locally and globally. Being one of the few players to achieve GS1 global industry certification, Alkemics provides its customers productivity gains and improved operational efficiency, as a valued partner in their continued international growth,” said Xavier Lorphelin, Managing Partner of Serena Capital.

About Alkemics

Founded in 2011, Alkemics helps CPG manufacturers and retailers collect, enrich, and share data across the retail ecosystem. Product Stream, a collaborative SaaS platform, simplifies the management of digital product data (ingredients, visuals, marketing content), extracts structured metadata for optimal quality, and automates synchronization between manufacturers, retailers, and third party service providers.  In May, Alkemics was named a 2016 Gartner Cool Vendor for Information Innovation and Governance.  Over 500 CPG manufacturers and leading global retailers connect through smarter data with Alkemics.  Visit www.alkemics.com to learn more.

About Cathay Innovation

Cathay Innovation is a global venture capital fund, created in affiliation with Cathay Capital Private Equity.  It was founded around the shared conviction that supporting digital entrepreneurs by providing them with a platform bridging 3 continents – North America, Europe and China – constitutes a particularly powerful value-creation strategy.  As a multi-stage fund, Cathay Innovation partners with visionary entrepreneurs, committed to driving change through technology.  Such transformation is accelerated by leveraging Cathay Capital Private Equity’s extensive network with corporates and solid experience in operational excellence. Cathay Innovation has offices in San Francisco, Paris, Beijing, and Shanghai.

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