REM People, a new generation retail analytics company that was established in Istanbul in 2015 and provides artificial intelligence-based image recognition technologies and retail analytics services to more than 50 countries through its regional offices in Istanbul, Dubai and London, has made its first global investment from Ethos Asset Management. announced that he had
San Diego, USA-based investment company Ethos Asset Management has invested $12 million in Istanbul-based REM People.
With the investment received, REM People will increase the number of its overseas regional offices to 8 countries at the first stage and to 24 countries in the following stages.
REM People CEO Bulent Peker stated that they will distribute some of the investment they receive as bonuses to their employees, and that they will also implement the stock option program (ESOP) and gradually share 10% of the company shares with their employees.
Increasing its global effectiveness
Founded in 2015 by techno-entrepreneurs with retail and technology experience, REM People received its first investment in December 2019. With this investment, REM People accelerated its global growth. Today, REM People, which has become a regional technology company managed from three countries, Istanbul, Dubai and London, has increased the number of countries it serves to over 50. Serving more than 120 leading brands and retailers in its sector, REM People has increased the number of its employees by nearly 40% compared to the previous year.
Standing out with “artificial intelligence-based image recognition technologies and end-to-end retail application management solutions” in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, REM People signed an agreement with Ethos Asset Management, one of the leading investment and financing companies in the USA, in the first days of 2023. Ethos announced that it has invested $12 million in REM People as the first leg of a long-term investment plan.
“The first step of a long-term partnership”
REM People Co-Founder and CEO Bulent Peker said the following about the partnership, which was successfully implemented as the first step of a three-stage investment process: “We are leaving behind another important stage in our journey from Istanbul in 2015. We are happy to announce an investment news that will motivate our techno-enterprise ecosystem in the first days of the year, and we are very excited to have established a unique partnership with Ethos Asset Management. This investment will enable us to scale our AI-based technology globally in less time. The investment we receive will be used primarily in our AI-focused research and development activities, our international expansion, the launch of new products, and our creation of a marketplace that provides one-stop retail analytics services for global consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers. In addition, we are pleased to state that this investment is the first step of a long-term global partnership and other investment rounds to be continued in the coming months.”
“REM People is an exciting project”
Carlos Santos, CEO of Ethos Asset Management, spoke as follows about their investment: “REM People is a unique and exciting project at the cutting edge of information technology (IT) solutions designed to process data with AI-based technologies, delivering visualized and actionable insights in real time with the latest business intelligence tools. With a holistic approach, it helps customers track their ‘product journey’ by monitoring retail trade operations and practices. With this investment, we support REM People’s vision to help ensure that consumer products are always accessible and visible in the shopping areas, a significant shelf/market share is guaranteed, pricing is correct, and planograms and other KPIs are aligned.”
“We have full confidence in the REM People team”
Mustafa Kemal Genc, manager of Attributed Holdings, which plays an important role in the investment process and is the global representative of Ethos, said: “The power of data is increasing day by day. While measuring data for online channels is relatively easy, making data meaningful for physical channels is still a big problem. REM People team; They are very experienced and successful in this field. We are delighted to be supporting them in reaching their bigger goals in the next chapter of their story.”
“Our investments in retail technologies will continue”
Hans Kastensmith, Executive Director of Ethos North and Central America, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Ethos, REM People and the AHI team to bring this financing deal to fruition. This investment marks another significant investment for Ethos in retail, which is ramping up in 2022 and we hope to continue expanding in 2023.”
We wish success in the global market to Rem People, its first investment in 2023.
Source: Egirisim / Translated by Irem Yildiz