Growth Funds for Virtual Store Specialist InContext

Chicago-based 3-D virtual store research specialist InContext Solutions has closed a $15.2m round of funding, which it will use to accelerate its sales and marketing efforts, expand its geographical footprint, and improve its virtual reality (VR) product portfolio.

The company conducts research using online 3-D environment simulations and has developed applications for virtual store research, collaborative store planning and eCommerce. Its flagship platform ShopperMX enables manufacturers and retailers to collaborate over the web within a 3-D virtual store simulation, offering capabilities for testing store, aisle and category layouts, product packaging, in-store marketing, and shopper flow within a store.

The new funding round has been led by Intel Capital and Beringea, with participation from Plymouth Ventures and other existing investors. This is the firm's sixth round of funding, and adds to the $1.5m raised in 2012 and $12m Series D round in 2014, bringing the total secured to date to $42.5m.

CEO Mark Hardy (pictured) comments: 'This latest round of funding gives us strong strategic backers who share our vision of even more robust, fully-immersive virtual reality solutions for retail. We have long been a leader in web-based VR, and this investment allows us to aggressively develop our VR platform, further lowering costs and improving speed and revenue for our clients'.

Separately, InContext recently announced it is combining Intel's technologies with ShopperMX to develop VR hardware and software for retail clients.

Web site: www.incontextsolutions.com .