\n-Accelerate service expansion through collaboration with Asukanet Co., Ltd., Kyodo News Digital Co., Ltd., CyberAgent, Inc., TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD., and TWO Inc.-<\/span><\/h3>\n
Tokyo, Japan \u2013 February 3, 2020 \u2013 AWL, Inc. (\u201cAWL\u201d), a leading AI camera solutions provider for retailers, headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, has announced that a JPY 810 million Series A round funding.<\/p>\n
AWL\u00a0issued new shares through a third-party allotment to Asukanet Co., Ltd., Kyodo News Digital Co., Ltd., CyberAgent, Inc., TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD., Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd., and Yoshikazu Azuma, a private investor and President of Two Inc., raising total JPY 460 million.
\nAlso, AWL entered into total JPY 350 million of overdraft facility agreement with Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation., MUFG Bank, Ltd. and others, along with lease agreement with Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd\u00a0aiming to establish solid financial ground for prompt business expansion in the future.<\/p>\n
[Purpose of Raising Funds]<\/strong> This round of funding helps AWL to strengthen solid financial ground to expand services in a speedy manner, and AWL will promote installation to entire branches of over 20 clients already in the trial phase, and strongly support them to generate the better outcome.<\/p>\n [Advantages of AWL Services]<\/strong> [Business Tie-up with Underwriting companies]<\/strong> \u25a0Asukanet Co., Ltd. \u25a0Kyodo News Digital Co., Ltd. \u25a0CyberAgent, Inc., \u25a0TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD. \u25a0Yoshikazu Azuma, a private investor and President of Two Inc. \uff1cAWL Overview\uff1e<\/strong> President: Muneharu Kitade
\nBy utilizing existing security cameras, AWL has been working on digitalization of retail stores, developing affordable and advanced AI camera solutions to realize the shift to AI, and conducting demonstration experiments.
\n\u201cAWL BOX<\/strong>\u201d, the AI edge device with multiple patents and \u201cAWL Lite<\/strong>\u201d, the application which easily enables Smartphone, tablet and signage to use AI features will be officially released in the middle of February 2020. In addition to grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, restaurants and apparel stores, AWL will support accommodation facilities, factories, transportations, ceremonial halls promoting workload reduction, manpower-saving \/ unmanned operation, more sophisticated marketing, and added-value improvement through AI analysis, visualization, and automation.<\/p>\nLeading the Future of RETAIL<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\nAWL\u2019s AI Camera Solutions is characterized by the image processing terminal (edge AI), called \u201cAWL BOX\u201d. By processing the image taken by the camera installed on the ceiling, etc. and the \u201cAWL BOX\u201d, clients would be able to analyze how employees are working and reduce workload in the store along with analyzing customer characteristics, dwell time, customer interactions with products.
\nThe videos recorded in the store will never be uploaded to the Cloud; only the anonymized data will be sent to the Cloud, which enables clients to create new marketing strategy such as improving store operation, product planning \/ customer analysis, etc.
\nIn addition, \u201cAWL BOX\u201d is compatible with almost all existing IP cameras (7,042 kinds as of end of January 2020), which means that our clients don\u2019t need to newly purchase cameras. It makes installation costs more competitive, approximately less than one-tenth compared with similar services, and it is affordable enough to encourages chain stores to consider introduction of our services to several hundreds \/ thousands of entire branches.
\nFurthermore, through this collaboration with these companies, AWL will enter full-scale rollout to the clients other than retailers such as accommodation facilities, transportation companies, factories, construction sites, etc. by visualization in real space using AI analysis.
\nEngineers and researchers from 16 countries specialized in image processing, machine learning (deep learning, etc.), and SaaS business are engaged in AWL\u2019s solution development activities.
\nUtilizing the funds,\u00a0AWL plans to promote technical development for further enhancement \/ improvement of \u201cAWL BOX\u201d system. Also, AWL plan to promote system establishment \/ equipment purchase in order to respond to rapid increase of store introduction, and development of high-value added services for the next generation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/awl.co.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/awlbox_en.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n\u3000AWL will conclude business \/ capital tie-ups with underwriting companies aiming to consider and promote collaboration on following services.<\/p>\n
\nAWL\u2019s services for ceremonial occasions, video production<\/span>
\n[Comment from Kenya Kono, CFO of Asukanet Co., Ltd.]
\nAsukanet Co., Ltd. (\u201cAskanet\u201d) has entrusted project development to AWL, and we highly appreciate the technological capabilities and sincere response. By utilizing existing cameras, we can significantly save on installation cost of AI cameras, developed by experts of image processing and machine learning. Also, it is attractive that we can digitalize and analyze the data of the activities of our clients \/ employees. We are excited to see a great potential in expansion to industries other than retail stores including our clients.<\/p>\n
\nAWL\u2019s service for disaster sites<\/span>
\n[Comment from Shinichi Ijichi, President and COO of Kyodo News Digital Co., Ltd.]
\nKyodo News Digital proudly provides contents and data, valuable for citizens and corporate activities. by utilizing AWL AI camera solutions, we expect to develop new value-creating data.
\nWith this investment opportunity, we intend to provide AI camera solutions for disaster prevention by sharing know-how with one another.<\/p>\n
\nAWL\u2019s service for OMO platform business<\/span>
\n[Comment from Kazushi Fujita, Director of Retail Tech Division, AI Tech Department, CyberAgent,
\nInc.]
\nRecently, attracting and leading customer to the actual stores by SNS, in-store sales promotion through AI cameras and signage, etc., streamlining of store operation by digitalization are drawing a high attention in retail business.
\nWe hope to promote product development and sales of more practical and effective OMO platform through demonstration experiments with AWL and SAPPORO DRUG STORE.<\/p>\n
\nAWL\u2019s service for automatic sales promotion platform<\/span>
\n[Comment from Umekawa Kenji, Director of Communication Design Department, TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD.]
\nTOPPAN has been working with AWL since 2019 to develop storefront communication services. We invested in AWL in the aim of strengthening future promotion.
\nWe hope to build a strong partnership to support the advance of each other through the cooperation on human resources and sales as well as the technical aspects.<\/p>\n
\nAWL\u2019s service for Two Inc.\u2019s next-generation retail store business<\/span>
\n[Comment from Yoshikazu Azuma]
\nI am the President of TWO, Inc. and we have currently co-developing the cutting-edge retail technology centering on AWL\u2019s camera solutions for our Food Division. Creating stores by leveraging technology is indispensable to improve customer experience (CX) for future retail business. Also, these experiences themselves directly connect to the corporate \/ brand value.
\nAWL\u2019s camera solutions have the potential to be the core of various retail technology, such as marketing, inventory efficiency, security, signage, etc. As Japan's leading technology company, we expect AWL to go beyond boarders in retail tech business, which is gaining global momentum.<\/p>\n
\nAWL develops and offers AI camera solutions for numerous problems in retail business and realizes added-value enhancement.
\nThrough business alliance with SATUDORA HOLDINGS CO.,LTD., AWL has been conducting Proof-of-concept in the actual SATUDORA stores, and developing various AI features for store operations in a competitive price.<\/p>\n
\u25a0AWL Inc.<\/div>\n
\nHead Office: Tokumiya Bldg. 6F, 1-12-4 Kudan-kita, Chiyoda-ku,
\nTokyo 102-0073 Japan
\nFounded: June, 2016
\nIndustry: AI camera solutions
\nWebsite: https:\/\/awl.co.jp\/en\/<\/a>\n<\/div>\n