Czech Startup Buylo Secures €640k Funding From Purple Ventures

The investment will fuel product development, international growth, and the expansion of its technical and sales teams. Buylo aims to demonstrate that physical retail can match the efficiency of e-commerce.

“We want to help retailers streamline operations and make shopping easier and faster for customers. Buylo is not just about cost savings; it’s about making retail data-driven, personalised, and transparent for both retailers and customers. I believe RFID is the future of retail and will soon be implemented by all major market players. Moreover, Buylo is not only effective for sales floors but also a strong tool for managing back-of-house operations.

“Thanks to this, we are expanding our client portfolio both in the Czech Republic—where we are currently implementing our solution for clients like Angry Beards—and abroad, where we’re also growing rapidly,” says Josef Voda, Co-founder and CEO of Buylo.

Founded in 2024, Buylo delivers cutting-edge technology designed to modernize and streamline operations in stores and warehouses. By combining RFID tags, sensors, AI and self-checkout systems, the platform enables real-time inventory automation, theft detection, faster sales and customer behavior tracking.

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Originating from the Industrial IT group—an expert in systems integration and industrial tech—Buylo has grown from early pilot projects to partnerships with major retail players. The company has also expanded internationally, including into the U.S., where it is part of a Czech innovation incubator.

“I never liked traditional self-checkouts where the customer essentially becomes the cashier. I thought, there’s a simpler way. It soon became clear it wouldn’t be that easy, and many people tried to dissuade me. But that only made me more determined. Thanks to RFID, we’re not only eliminating unfriendly user experiences at self-checkouts but also dramatically increasing the efficiency of entire store operations,” adds Voda.

According to Precedence Research, the global retail automation market is projected to grow from €20.6 billion in 2023 to nearly €61.8 billion by 2034, with an average annual growth rate of 9–13%. Key drivers include the need to cut operating costs, adoption of technologies like RFID, AI, and IoT analytics, and increasing consumer demand for self-service—supported by surveys showing over 66% of shoppers prefer self-checkouts.

Mordor Intelligence estimates that the European retail automation market will reach nearly €5 billion by 2030. The Czech non-food retail sector is valued at around €28 billion, with the European market at approximately €86 billion. Globally, the opportunity spans into the trillions.

Buylo targets medium-sized retailers for whom building such advanced systems in-house is not cost-effective. Its technology enables full-store inventory checks in minutes—without manual scanning—and can reduce theft-related losses by up to 80% through integration with AI-powered camera systems.

For customers, Buylo provides faster shopping via RFID-enabled self-checkout that scans entire baskets in seconds. Shoppers can also pay instantly using QR codes on products. Additionally, the system can deliver personalised discounts based on items previously viewed, using real-time data from in-store cameras and AI.

“Retail is a sector with a huge volume of money, but data culture has been slow to take hold. Buylo offers a solution that not only reduces costs and increases sales, but more importantly, gives retailers control. And since it’s being developed in the Czech Republic by a smart and driven team, the investment was a clear choice for us,” says Jakub Nytra, Founder of Purple Ventures and Co-founder of the Purple Group.

Buylo has successfully completed its initial pilot projects and is now gearing up for broader international expansion. Beyond its home market in the Czech Republic, the company is active in Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria through fashion retailer Numero Uno, and in Slovakia via a partnership with YOYOSO, a lifestyle chain offering everyday products.

With fresh investment from Purple Ventures, Buylo plans to expand its product lineup and deepen collaborations with retail equipment manufacturers. The company is also developing specialized modules tailored for fashion retail, along with cost-effective solutions designed for retailers with smaller budgets.