Retail tech startup Leal raises $5m pre-Series B funding for AI and omnichannel upgrades

Leal, a retail tech platform for customer engagement in Latin America (LATAM), has raised $5 million in pre-Series B funding, co-led by LEAP Global Partners and Rakuten Capital, and also supported by Morro Ventures and Salkantay Ventures. With the funding, Leal plans to reach $10 million ARR and launch a re-platforming, focusing on omnichannel communications, smarter data collection and interactions, and automation of benefits to maximize conversions.

The B2B2C SaaS platform helps retailers in LATAM identify, engage, and reward their most valuable customers through data management, multichannel marketing, and comprehensive customer loyalty solutions. Leal’s partner merchants can build their own customer database while feeding Leal’s user base, and they’ll see an increase in sales and customer lifetime value. Meanwhile, the app - with targeted offers and rewards - empowers customers to save money on their daily purchases.

Leal is already in a strategic position with ad spending projected to reach over $41 billion in LATAM in 2024, according to Statista. To date, the leader in loyalty technology innovation has serviced more than 1000 brands across 15 industries, including the likes of Subway, Verifone, and Chevron. Leal’s app is available in eight countries, has more than 6M users (up from 1.5M in 2020), and boasts 3.5M active users in the last twelve months. Leal has raised $20.5 million in total funding, with other funders including IDC Ventures, Grupo Bolívar, Founders X, among others.

Leal currently equips retailers with various digital tools and services to track customer behavior and purchasing patterns. By harnessing a wide range of data, from zero to third-party sources, Leal can understand user preferences and behaviors to deliver the right benefit to the right individual at the perfect time, through the most effective channel.

This pre-Series B funding will enable Leal to enhance its use of AI to redefine the customer engagement experience, using machine learning and advanced data analytics to offer highly personalized benefits to users. This will optimize user engagement and satisfaction while boosting sales for merchant partners, creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem.

Camilo Martinez F, Co-founder and CEO, Leal: ''This bridge funding will incorporate AI to make shopping even more enjoyable for users. It's all about setting Leal up for a strong and sustainable future. The retail tech platform for customer engagement will also leverage Generative AI’s potential to enhance chatbot interactions between brands and consumers, offering immediate and scalable customer care and deepening merchant-user relationships. We are incredibly proud to have investors of the highest caliber doubling down on our vision. This means we can continue to make our platform more robust and provide shoppers with access to cashback on a vast array of products, both online and in-store. We're all about supporting our partners' growth too; we want to help them keep returning customers and see their sales skyrocket.''

www.leal.co