Uzbekistan startup TASS Vision has raised €1.3 million. The startup enables retailers to monitor complete customer journeys in physical stores in real time, optimise product placements, and measure the effectiveness of in-store marketing.
All of this happens without sending data to the cloud, with full emphasis on customer privacy. TASS Vision’s products run exclusively on edge AI cameras that process images directly on the device.
TASS Vision was founded by Shakhzod Umirzakov and Jamshidjon Khakimjonov. The entrepreneurial spark came from an unexpected place: a bus depot in Tashkent, where Shakhzod worked as a teenage ticket inspector.
During this time, he discovered that up to 30 per cent of revenue was being lost due to human error or fraud.
In response, he developed his own sensor device for counting passengers. Although the product didn’t take off due to the small market, it revealed an important insight: most offline businesses operate without data.
That insight led to the founding of TASS Vision in 2021, with the goal of bringing “Google Analytics” into the offline world. Today, the platform offers two key products – Vitrac (customer journey tracking) and Sitrac (shelf interaction analysis) – both running on proprietary edge AI cameras designed to protect privacy while providing deep analytical insight.
“We help retailers run performance marketing – not online, but right on the shop floor. The data shows that many of our clients have increased revenue and reduced operational costs. Our goal isn’t just to automate retail, but to create a new data standard for the entire offline world,” says Shakhzod Umirzakov, one of TASS Vision's founders.
The startup is currently active in more than 2,000 retail stores across ten countries and collaborates with over a hundred brands in the electronics, fashion, FMCG, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Purple Ventures led the investment with a €500,000 contribution. The remaining amount came from funds including Domino VC, Pragma Tech VC, Sabah Fund, Caucasus VC, Big Sky Capital, and IT Park VC. Also participating were early angel investors Bachrom Abduqadirov and Ahror Abdukarimov, who supported the startup back in 2022 along with 500 Global, UzVC, and Activat.
"This is a true data revolution for brick-and-mortar retail. TASS Vision delivers what e-commerce has had for years – precise and detailed insight into customer behaviour and measurability. With its own hardware and software, the company has a strong technological edge and an extremely efficient business model,” says Jan Davídek, Partner at Purple Ventures, adding:
“We believe the combination of edge AI and retail will be one of the defining trends of the coming years, and TASS Vision is well-positioned to become a leader in this category.
That’s why we didn’t hesitate to invest, even in faraway Uzbekistan – becoming the first fund from our region to do so.”
Over the past two years, TASS Vision has grown by 500 per cent year-over-year, with the vast majority of new clients coming through referrals. The company now employs 35 people, including teams in Uzbekistan, South Korea, and China, where R&D in AI models, image processing, and edge hardware is conducted.
The new investment will help complete the development of the next generation of proprietary cameras – expected to be up to 20× faster than the current models, more energy-efficient, and better suited for global deployment. The aim is also to simplify installation and lower the barrier to entry for customers even further.
Lead image: TASS Vision. Photo: uncredited.
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