Verofax announced the closing of a $3M bridge round led by international investors Plug & Play Tech Center, Navig8 Group, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, Trove Capital UK follow-on investment, Jawa Brothers Advisory, with Alzamil Pedco CVC and Tracecore CVC completing the list of investors.
Verofax applies patented Web3 technologies such as Blockchain, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence to provide ‘Elevated tourist, shopper and brand marketing experiences’, enabling destinations, retailers and sports stadiums to turn their experiences interactive and drive conversion and social virality. Brands can reach customers directly, thereby increasing consumer intimacy with direct engagement and leveraging gamification for unmatched results from AI & AR experiences. Verofax has won many awards for the application of artificial intelligence for tourism and retail and has achieved sales to date of over $3M for Fortune 100 companies across 50 markets globally.
The funds will be used to execute the Company’s pipeline of projects in the Middle East and EU, notably AI-powered guides in GCC and Sports fan guides in the EU and North America. Verofax solutions apply to various industries (Retail, Tourism and Sports) and are already used by leading brands such as Anheuser Busch Inc and Emirates Airlines. Verofax is a Microsoft Native partner and has secured a global network of distributors and resellers, co-selling on enterprise solution platforms such as Microsoft Azure Marketplace, Amazon AWS, and other platforms.
Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax, said, “Our solution helps Tourists elevate their experiences, unlock personalized discounts and Offer gamified ‘Explore to win’ sponsored games in Augmented reality. This allows enterprises and brands to sponsor and elevate their marketing efficiency, power direct-to-consumer communication and deliver amazing experiences to drive growth and boost loyalty. We are thrilled to be joined by strategic investors that will help us accelerate our AI guide solution and AR gamified experiences and grow through their collective network and with their advice.”
Abdullah Alakeel, Country Director of Plug & Play Saudi, said: “Our recent investment in Verofax demonstrates our unwavering commitment to supporting the most promising startups within the Kingdom and the broader region. As one of the world’s most active and successful early-stage tech investors, we are fully dedicated to nurturing the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are thrilled to witness the transformative impact that Verofax will continue to make within the Tourism industry.”
Ian Campbell, Vice President of the National Transformation Institute (NTI), said, “KAUST is mandated to accelerate the digital economy in the Kingdom as part of the University’s forward vision, leveraging KAUST science and innovation to make an impact beyond the walls of the campus itself and to create collaborations and identify opportunities where KAUST can contribute by convening minds and resources together to deliver solutions to benefit the wider Kingdom and beyond. The application of AI in tourism, customer service and beyond are applications that fall within our investment mandate.”
Jamal Jawa, Managing Partner of Brothers Advisory, said, “Our investment thesis is to support growth startups that leverage the latest technologies such as AI / AR and Web3, setting new service categories. We have been incredibly impressed by Wassim and the whole Verofax team and are thrilled to be making this our first investment in a Pre-Series A startup in the GCC region”.
