Mercia Fund Management has made a £150,000 SEIS investment in Staffordshire-based facial recognition startup Customer Clever.
Customer Clever, which was founded in 2014, uses cloud-based facial recognition software to determine the gender, ethnicity and age of visitors to shopping centres and other venues. The adtech company can then build up a profile of repeat customers and target them with more relevant advertising.
The money will be used to kick-start sales of the product.
MFM specialises in making investments in companies working outside of London. Rob Johnson, Investment Director at MFM, said: “We believe the biometrics sector will experience significant growth over the next decade, and Customer Clever is well placed to take first mover advantage with this innovative application within this growth industry and potentially establish a significant market share.”