Japanese firm Seiko Epson and its subsidiary Epson X Investment have invested in Cloudpick, a Chinese smart retail technology provider, through a joint fund, the EP-GB Investment Partnership.

Cloudpick’s mission is to transform the shopping experience by using AI and big data to develop and provide the software and hardware for autonomous retail infrastructure.

Founded in 2017, Cloudpick has already expanded into more than 11 countries including Japan.

Cloudpick’s technology uses in-store AI and machine learning to recognise products and customer shopping behaviour accurately, and rapidly process online payment to reduce the need for labour and achieve low-cost operation of smart retail stores.

Its digital store operation platform integrates marketing functions that analyse customer purchase information and behaviour, and promotional contents delivery functionality through in-store digital signage and more. There is also support for store operations after implementation, with product sales forecasts, marketing support and other services.

Through its investment in and co-creation with Cloudpick, Epson is looking to use its technology, products and services in retail operations, a business that includes autonomous, cashierless stores and that is expected to see further expansion due to labour shortages.

Going forward, Epson says it will help achieve a sustainable society by creating partnerships and synergies based on proprietary technologies, products and services.

Epson X Investment is a corporate venture capital (CVC) firm. It is wholly owned by Seiko Epson, an information equipment and precision products manufacturer. Epson joined forces with general partner Global Brain, an independent venture capital company with expertise in CVC management, to form the EP-GB Investment Partnership and carry out investment activities.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of around ¥1tn.

Cloudpick was founded in 2017. The core technical team comes from a versatile background, including senior scientists and engineers from Silicon Valley, Alibaba, Tencent and Intel. By 2019, Cloudpick had already established close to 130 stores in countries including USA, Canada, Japan, Korea and Singapore.