Crisp, a leading AI platform for retail data, has closed a $26 million Series B1 round led by Paine Schwartz Partners, with participation from Blue Cloud Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Cox, DNX, Prologis, and Wellington Management. The investment reflects growing recognition of the value of verticalized AI—AI tailored for industry-specific challenges—over more general-purpose solutions.
Unlike horizontal AI tools such as chatbots, Crisp focuses on actionable insights for retail and CPG companies, helping automatically reduce out-of-stocks, optimize assortment and space planning, and maximize e-commerce revenue.
“Crisp is an example of a company laser-focused on creating smarter data and AI-driven systems that power the global food chain,” said Kevin Schwartz, CEO and Managing Partner of Paine Schwartz Partners. “They have proven repeatedly that they can scale and build the solutions needed to tackle the toughest challenges in the global food supply chain.”
Expanding Retail AI Capabilities
The new funding will accelerate Crisp’s growth across several areas:
- Expanding value to CPG and retail channels through new platform features and functionality
- Building new data partnerships to enrich insights
- Investing in the Crisp AI Agent flagship product
- Growing the team through strategic global hires
Crisp recently launched its AI Agent Studio, the first AI agent platform purpose-built for the retail industry. The studio orchestrates supply chain insights and prompts real-time actions to improve performance, leveraging Crisp’s deep retail data foundation that cleanses, models, and interprets diverse commerce datasets.
“Investors are looking to support companies that demonstrate measurable change through advanced technology,” said Are Traasdahl, founder and CEO of Crisp. “Paine Schwartz recognizes Crisp as a high-ROI vertical AI data platform operating at the intersection of commerce, supply chain, and sustainability.”
Industry Endorsements and Market Position
Rick Heitzmann, founder and partner at FirstMark Capital, noted, “Are and his team have identified the most pressing business challenges faced by CPG brands and their retail partners. Crisp leverages an intelligent, connected data strategy supported by the latest AI and automation tools. As a vertical AI solution touching production, inventory, logistics, pricing, marketing, and more, Crisp is well-positioned to lead the market.”
Existing lenders, JPMorgan and Silver Lake Waterman, continue to support Crisp’s accelerated growth strategy. Since its founding in 2017, Crisp has now raised a total of $127 million in funding.
With this capital, Crisp is set to expand its vertical AI footprint, driving measurable efficiency gains for retailers and CPG brands while solidifying its leadership in the intersection of AI, commerce, and supply chain intelligence.
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