FARMINGTON HILLS – Beringea announced its Fund has made a $5 million investment in InContext Solutions, Inc., a Web-based company providing three dimensional virtual store research, simulations, and software to manufacturers and retailers.
Beringea led the $12 million Series D round, which included a $4 million investment from Beringea?s London affiliate Beringea, LLP, and funding from Plymouth Venture Partners, Ill.-based Hyde Park Venture Partners, as well as other inside investors. Proceeds will be used to support sales and operational hiring plans and fund further development and functionality of InContext?s ShopperMX platform.
?There is a growing market familiarity with desktop 3D solutions, and we expect demand for the type of solutions InContext offers customers to grow substantially as retailers and manufacturers realize the significant benefit of online visualization tools,? said Mark Donnelly, principal at Beringea. ?Making this investment alongside our London office gives InContext valuable resources to utilize as the company expands into the European market.?
With the latest funding efforts, InContext Solutions plans to rapidly grow and expand its virtual simulation and research presence worldwide. Their marquee shopper marketing platform, ShopperMX?, is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) offering that allows manufacturers and retailers to collaborate over the web within a 3D virtual store simulation. The first-of-its-kind technology takes 3D visualization to the next level with endless capabilities for testing store, aisle and category layouts, product packaging, in-store marketing or even shopper flow within a store to determine which concept is the most effective for generating demand. ShopperMX helps clients become faster, smarter and more profitable as they bring shopper and retail concepts to market. In the last year alone, ShopperMX growth increased 168 percent and continues to accelerate.
?We are seeing great interest and investments from current clients as virtual continues to gain traction in the market. With this funding round, we will be able to exponentially boost our growth and offer enhanced virtual solutions for clients,? says InContext Solutions CEO Mark Hardy. ?Our plan is to increase our dedicated and knowledgeable staff, invest further in our ShopperMX technology, and support expansion into Europe.?
InContext Solutions was founded in 2009 with a vision to revolutionize 3D virtual simulation technology via Internet streaming and offer unparalleled virtual store research services. To date, InContext Solutions has become a partner for a large roster of companies, including seven of the top 10 global consumer packaged goods companies, six of the top 10 quick serve chain restaurant companies in the United States, three of the top five grocery retailers in the United States and three of the top 10 mass, drug and value chain retailers in the United States.
