dunnhumby Invests in AI Optimization Firm Azoma

dunnhumby Ventures, the VC division of the Tesco consumer data company, has invested in Azoma, a platform which measures and improves how AI shopping agents discover, interpret and recommend products for retailers and CPG brands.

Azoma helps brands increase their revenue coming through AI shopping agents like Alexa for Shopping, Walmart Sparky, ChatGPT and Gemini. The firm combines AEO/GEO measurement with optimization and execution across product data, content, and third-party sources that influence how AI systems discover, interpret, and recommend products. For example, its analysis of tens of millions of AI responses in the second quarter of 2026 found that earned or social media accounts for 86.5% of the citations behind Aleca for Shopping's recommendations, and 76% for Walmart Sparky. While ChatGPT is slightly more likely to take its information from retailer sources (37.1% of citations), Azoma highlights that 'the answer a shopper receives is therefore assembled largely from sources the brand does not own.'

The partners believe AI shopping assistants are becoming a primary route to purchase, which retailers and CPG brands need to measure as rigorously as they measure shelf sales. Following the investment, dunnhumby's data and expertise will help Azoma to help its clients identify which GEO prompts to track and what impact its strategy has on revenue. In return, dunnhumby will use the new firm's expertise to extend support for its retailer clients, helping them to improve their customer-facing chat agents while optimizing their discoverability in the new agentic commerce ecosystem.

With the deal, Leo Nagdas, Head of dunnhumby Ventures, becomes an advisor to the Azoma board - Nagdas founded dunnhumby's Retail Innovation Network, an open innovation programme for retail technology leaders.

Max Sinclair (pictured), Azoma CEO and co-founder, comments: 'dunnhumby has decades of expertise helping brands and retailers leverage customer data insight. Agentic Commerce is the next frontier. dunnhumby understands this, and brands and retailers' current data blindness better than anyone. Their investment is a vote of confidence in our current solution and shared vision. In time, their data will help us demonstrate to the world's largest retailers and consumer brands the tangible value of agent-driven recommendations. Agentic commerce is a $9 trillion opportunity, and this is how we will continue to define the category.'

Web sites: www.azoma.ai and www.dunnhumby.com/innovation .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.