Company says platform has reduced shrinkage and boosted sales at retailers including Albertsons, Meijer, and Wakefern
Inventory management software provider Afresh has secured US$34mn in new funding to accelerate the expansion of its AI grocery platform, as it bids to reduce waste and preserve “razor-thin margins” in the fresh produce business.
The solution offers a way to organise and plan the sourcing, allocation, distribution and merchandising of fresh fruit and vegetables – as well as other products – more efficiently, using real-time information from distribution centres and retail stores.
And according to the company, it was designed specifically with fresh produce in mind. As such, it sets out to factor in the short shelf-life, unpredictable demand, and imperfect data which characterises fruit and veg supply.
The system has since been extended to other grocery categories, including frozen produce and general merchandise.
“We’ve spent nearly a decade building AI to solve the complexity of grocery, and we’re now seeing that approach scale across the industry,” comments Afresh CEO and co-founder Matt Schwartz. “The decisions AI makes in grocery aren’t about optimising pixels on a screen – they’re about physical products with shelf-lives measured in days, moving through a supply chain that feeds billions of people.”
He adds: “Our platform orchestrates those decisions at scale, so buyers, store teams, and merchandisers can spend less time on routine execution and more time on the strategy and judgment that drive outcomes.”
Rapid deployment
In partnership with leading grocery retailers including Albertsons, Meijer, and Wakefern, Afresh says it has rolled out the system to more than 12,500 fresh produce departments across 40 states.
This has apparently led to “measurable” improvements in availability, waste levels, and margins – including reported reductions of up to 25 per cent in shrinkage, a 3 per cent increase in sales, and a 7 per cent improvement in inventory turnover.
Afresh says the new capital investment would accelerate that expansion, supporting broader deployment across retail partners and continued investment in next-generation AI.
More than 60 per cent of the company’s orders have come in the last 12 months, it notes, as retailers expand adoption across stores, categories, and workflows.
Over the same period, the startup says it has sustained 70 per cent year-on-year revenue growth while expanding from fresh replenishment into a platform that spans six enterprise-grade solutions – from full-store ordering, production planning, DC buying, and supply chain optimisation.
The latest investment round was led by Just Climate and High Sage Ventures, with participation from all of the company’s other major investors.
