Unified retail media platform Zitcha has secured $15 million Series A funding, led by US investment firm VMG Partners, to accelerate growth in the booming North American retail media market.
Australian venture capital business OIF Ventures, which raised Zitcha’s seed funding round in 2022, has also invested in the Series A round which will supercharge Zitcha’s plans to open new offices in the US, hire sales and customer success teams, and meet the growing demand from retailers and brands for more sophisticated, data-driven advertising solutions.
VMG Partners seeks to back transformative consumer products, services, and technologies. The investment marks VMG Technology’s – the firm’s stage-agnostic venture arm – first in an Australian business, and aligns with its strategic focus on transforming the retail landscape.
The expansion comes as US retail media revenues are forecast to grow to US$110-120 billion by 2027, according to the Boston Consulting Group, and US retail media networks are demanding integrated in-store and offsite advertising capabilities, evolving from managed to self-service models, and seeking joint business planning functionality. Zitcha’s platform aims to address these requirements, enabling retailers to monetise every transaction.
Zitcha currently empowers leading retailers across seven countries, including Coles Group (Australia), The Warehouse Group (New Zealand), Peavey Mart (Canada) Leroy Merlin (South Africa) and is trusted and relied on by global brands, including Unilever, Fisher & Paykel and Microsoft, Lego and Sennheiser.
Earlier this year, Zitcha entered into a strategic partnership with Axonet to leverage first-party convenience store data and retail media touchpoints across tens of thousands of North American convenience stores (C-store). British online retail giant Ocado is the latest major retailer to join the Zitcha platform, becoming the first to leverage its latest iteration including new business planning tools.
“The US presents an enormous opportunity for Zitcha. Our platform is uniquely positioned to help retailers and brands fully leverage the third wave of digital advertising and as US retail media networks mature, the demand for integrated, data-driven ad solutions has never been higher. With this investment from VMG Partners, along with their vast experience with consumer brands and retail technology, we are excited to tap into the immense prospects America offers,” said Troy Townsend, co-founder and CEO, Zitcha.
“Zitcha has enjoyed impressive momentum since launching just two years ago, driving innovation in retail media, building an industry-leading retail media platform and securing partnerships with some of the world’s preeminent retailers and brands. Troy and Jack have built a talented team of specialists and pursued a scalable program of global expansion. Their ambition and deep expertise in retail media made them an ideal match for us. We look forward to supporting the business and helping drive its US acceleration,” said VMG Technology’s general partner, Carle Stenmark.
“The investment from VMG Partners and OIF Ventures allows Zitcha to scale our US presence and accelerate our entry into its red hot retail media ecosystem. But while the US is an obvious important growth opportunity, Australia, New Zealand and other key territories in Europe and Asia remain a priority. We are a proudly Aussie founded business and are committed to ensuring retailers and brands continue to receive the best of what we have to offer and the level of service they have come to expect,” said Jack Byrne, co-founder and Zitcha chief operating officer.
Troy Townsend will relocate to the US to spearhead Zitcha’s North America expansion. Australia will remain as Zitcha’s headquarters with APAC as its platform and engineering hub and Jack Byrne will continue to manage Zitcha operations outside of the US.
