Dallas-based accelerator seed fund RevTech Ventures portfolio company Xenio Systems brings hyper-local Internet of Things tech to brick and mortar stores.

The San Francisco-based startup’s tech uses precision real-time positioning inside retail locations to track people’s behavior to provide user data around shopper metrics and engagement more commonly available to e-commerce stores and their wealth of digital data. Shopper stats such as dwell, traffic, and velocity allow retailers to engage with customers in real-time on their mobile devices with offers, in-store navigation, and services such as on-demand concierge.

“It’s a new kind of data that not only levels the playing field for brick and mortars but also help fuse online and physical retail in new ways while helping deliver delightful shopping.”
Reza Raji

“It’s a new kind of data that not only levels the playing field for brick and mortars but also help fuse online and physical retail in new ways while helping deliver delightful shopping,” Reza Raji, CEO, Xenio Systems, told Dallas Innovates.

In a Viewpoints on Innovation blog post, Al Meyers, RevTech mentor and business development executive with Kalypso, wrote about Xenio’s 17-plus patents and how its hyper-positioning technology works in-store within a 2- to 3-foot accuracy using high-density, high-coverage BLE (Bluetooth low energy). The tech is able to track shoppers who have the store’s app installed on their smartphone, even if the app isn’t open or running.

One of the many values in having a specialty seed fund accelerator such as RevTech in Dallas is that it brings in world-class startup talent to the city either for intensive three-month programs as in the case of Health Wildcatters and Tech Wildcatters, or for special events and intensive one-week programs in the case of RevTech.

CEO Reza Raji; Gerry Gutt, chief software architect; CFO Steve Bennett, and Raul Gonzalez, director of software systems

“RevTech’s rich collection of retail executive mentors have been quite helpful in refining the strategic value of Xenio’s solution for the specific needs of the retail market,” Raji said. “Being a part of the RevTech ecosystem has enabled us to access retailers, investors and former retail executives in way not typically offered by traditional investors.”

Xenio ready to ‘connect the dots’

Raji added that brick-and-mortar retail is in a situation where mobile phone, sensor technologies, and online-offline shopping behavior are creating a “perfect storm.” He believes retailers will adopt new, transformative technologies and that Xenio and its tech is ready to “connect the dots.”

Xenio was founded in 2017, built from the founding team of iControl Networks, an early consumer IoT success story, and originally was introduced to RevTech via one of its portfolio companies.

The RevTech Ventures fund focuses on the intersection of retail and technology with an emphasis on early-stage investments as well as larger follow-on investments. It provides its portfolio companies year-round content, support, and mentoring along with its twice yearly one-week programs for portfolio companies that have graduated from top-tier accelerator programs.