Top Retail Tech Stories of the Week Featuring AI, Supply Chain and Self-Scanning

AI Voice Agent Startup Solda.AI Secures $4M Seed Funding

Solda.AI, an AI voice agent startup, has raised $4 million in seed funding led by Accel with participation from AltaIR Capital. The company, founded by AI/ML entrepreneur Sergey Shalaev in 2023, develops multimodal AI voice agents that autonomously close sales calls. With clients in retail, finance, transport and telecom sectors, the funding will accelerate product development and global expansion. Read more

Lidl Ireland Launches Bulk Feed Reverse Vending Machine

Lidl Ireland has become the first Irish supermarket to introduce a bulk feed reverse vending machine at its Mullingar store. The RVM Systems Mega machine allows customers to quickly return large volumes of bottles and cans as part of Ireland's Re-turn scheme, with options to receive deposit vouchers or donate to charity.

Thoughtworks Hires Payments Leader from EY

Alla Gancz has joined technology consultancy Thoughtworks as Payments Vertical Leader after serving as Partner and UK Payments Consulting Leader at EY. In her new role, she will shape global payments strategy and work with financial institutions, FinTechs and regulators.

Morrisons Partners with AI Supply Chain Firm Kallikor

UK grocery chain Morrisons has partnered with supply chain simulation specialist Kallikor to create a digital twin of its end-to-end supply chain. The AI-powered Adaption platform will enable real-time optimization of warehouse operations and network flows.

Bill Gates Joins Daughter's Fashion Tech Startup

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced he's joining the customer experience team at Phia, an AI-powered fashion technology app co-founded by his daughter Phoebe Gates. The free iOS app helps users find the best prices while shopping online.

Lidl GB Prepares Self-Scanning App Launch

Lidl GB will trial a new self-scanning feature in its Lidl Plus app across four stores this September. The feature will allow customers to scan items as they shop, track spending in real-time, and checkout faster via self-service, with a full rollout planned for 2026.

Other Notable Developments:

• Datavations raised $17M Series A for its retail intelligence platform
• Amazon selling startup Jarvio secured $1.8M pre-seed funding
• Forter and PwC report identified rising e-commerce fraud threats including:
  1. Remote access cyber attacks (+8% during Black Friday 2024)
  2. Card testing scams
  3. Fraud targeting quick-service restaurants (+45% YoY)
  4. Loyalty points fraud
  5. Fake account creation

This week's stories highlight how retailers are increasingly adopting AI, automation and data analytics to transform operations and customer experiences.