On our mission to disrupt how retailers market and sell their products online, we are excited to announce that we have raised $10 million in a Seed Funding round led by leading U.S VC Bonfire Ventures.

Our Co-Founder and Chairman, Ben White, built and sold MessageLabs (which was acquired by Symantec in 2008 for $800 million). However, Ben didn’t stop there, and Upp. was conceived with Co-Founder Drew Smith in 2019. Drew and Ben could see the dawn of a new era in retail, which at its core will have automation and AI, and Upp. has been working hard to transform eCommerce for retailers and brands since.  

Upp. is now a thriving SaaS business, and today our technology is ensuring that retailers and brands improve their Google Shopping performance. And it’s great to know that Bonfire shares our vision for tomorrow — here is what Mark Mullen, co-founder of Bonfire Ventures had to say:

“We believe that Upp. is the future of online sales. The company’s platform is incredibly powerful and has the potential to revolutionize the way retailers market, price and sell their products online. The platform was conceived by a talented team who have run multi-hundred-million-dollar businesses in the past, so it possesses a lot of horsepower.”

AI and Machine Learning like no other

Artificial intelligence and machine learning sit at the heart of our infrastructure. Upp.AI analyses data using sophisticated AI and ML technology to manage the performance of large inventories on Google Shopping in real-time, 24/7. Optimising ad spend, improving product discovery, and providing unique insights which combined drive an increase in eCommerce sales.  

Upp.AI transforms Google Ads management and has already helped retailers achieve a 52% uplift in Google channel sales in the first 12 months of use.  And our ML will continue to improve performance – when we first started working with Clients we saw a 29% growth rate in the first 3 months – now we see that same growth rate in one week.

Ben White, Co-Founder and Chairman of Upp. commented:

“The scale and complexity of today’s online retail environment has extended beyond the capability of humans alone and needs the support of powerful AI and machine learning technology. The Upp.AI platform enables retailers to excel in a competitive landscape, achieve better results around the clock and align their finance and marketing teams’ goals seamlessly.”

We’re helping customers around the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States such as Charles Tyrwhitt, Onbuy, Roman Originals and Nkuku, to drive their Google Shopping strategies.  It’s our advanced machine learning that we have taught to retail that sets us apart, and the insights we are able to feed back to our retailers help to ensure a continued competitive advantage for them.

Joe Irons, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Charles Tyrwhitt Stated:

“Upp. are a key partner to Charles Tyrwhitt across our global online marketing channels and specifically have helped us scale our marketing across Google Performance Max. They have helped improve our brand visibility and unlock new product categories with a focus on reaching new customers.”

Since 2019 Investors have shown confidence in our solution, and the recent funding round by Bonfire Ventures, who are currently number three in the Founder’s Choice VC Rankings, brings significant support for both our current solution for Google Shopping and our plans for the future.

Over the next 12 months, we will use this investment to continue improving our platform, accelerate the growth of our sales and marketing function, expand geographically, and launch new AI/ML driven automation solutions for retailers.