Covariant, an AI robotics company, has announced it has raised an additional $75 million in Series C funds, bringing its total funding to $222 million. Returning investors Radical Ventures and Index Ventures co-led the round, which also saw additional funding from returning investors Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Amplify Partners. The round also welcomed new investors Gates Frontier Holdings, AIX Ventures, and Northgate Capital. The funding will be used to ensure today's leading retailers and their logistics providers are able to deploy robotic picking quickly and without disruption to their current operations, Covariant stated. This comes at a time when retail executives are eager to invest in AI-powered robotic automation: according to a Covariant-led research survey from February 2023, more than 80% of retail leaders see automation as a key solution for navigating operational uncertainty in an unpredictable marketplace – and 98% plan to further invest in AI Robotics in 2023 despite current economic conditions.

Infor, a leading provider of business applications, has announced the acquisition of Predictix, a provider of machine-learning solutions for retailers. Predictix will become part of Infor CloudSuite Retail, a new suite of enterprise applications delivered in the cloud and designed for today's retailing landscape. The acquisition comes six months after Infor announced an investment in Predictix. "The synergies between Infor and Predictix were greater than we could have hoped, and we've come to appreciate a great cultural alignment where both teams have passionate people who work hard and want to make a difference in retail and beyond," said Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor. "Buying out the other Predictix investors makes sense to bring the teams together and provide the scale and resources needed to accelerate the retail revolution."

Accenture has acquired OPS Rules, a boutique analytics consulting company that specializes in the application of data science to create supply chain and operations analytics solutions. When the acquisition is completed, Accenture will add new operations analytics professionals to its team to apply machine learning and optimization techniques to develop analytics approaches for clients across many industries. Founded in 2012, OPS Rules has offices in Waltham, Mass., and Richardson, Texas. OPS Rules is led by David Simchi-Levi, a professor of engineering systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and renowned supply chain and operations analytics expert. Simchi-Levi and his team will join Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture Digital, and will also be a part of Accenture's Data Science Center of Excellence, an innovation team that focuses on solving immediate and complex client problems through advanced analytics approaches, including machine learning, deep learning, text analytics and more.