TASS Vision — a startup that helps large retail chains increase sales

About the Foundation

TASS Vision was founded on October 9, 2019. We work in the field of artificial intelligence, helping network retailers and capturing 87% of the market in Uzbekistan. With our first product, TASS Retail, we provide analytics: we connect to existing cameras or install our own smart cameras and analyze how many people have entered, their gender and age, where the largest crowds have gathered, which product has had the most interactions. We also analyze shelves and the correct placement of products.

Our second product is Tass Store. The technologies we develop, related to customer analysis and product analysis, can be combined and presented in "stores of the future," i.e., cashierless stores like Amazon Go and Zippin. The idea is that people can enter the store, take everything they need, and simply leave, with the money automatically deducted from their card: no cashiers, queues, or lines.

The Idea Behind the Startup

During my school years, I loved software and everything related to programming. I programmed with my friend and built websites. We wanted to create a website with a free database of all lyceums in the city to provide this resource to all schoolchildren. On the website, schoolchildren could view interviews with successful graduates of these lyceums, a gallery, and the curriculum.

Later, during the summer, I worked part-time as a conductor at my father's bus depot. There, I realized there were gaps in the payment system and suggested to my father that we create a program to count the number of passengers. We were able to develop this program and connect a large number of buses to it. However, such a solution had already been created in other countries, so we stepped back. But wanting to create something more significant, we thought about where else these counters might be needed.

I started calling clients from the retail and construction sectors to tell them about my product. At that time, I didn't fully understand the details of why these counts were necessary. I made 55 calls a day, and one day I connected with a marketer from a large home appliance chain in Uzbekistan, who said that they already had sensors installed but they were counting poorly.

He also mentioned that he had seen other more accurate solutions using video analytics, and I told him I could build such a solution within two weeks. However, developing this project took about three months.

Target Audience

We operate in the B2B segment, helping large network retailers increase sales by up to 15%.

Today, more than 700 stores are connected to our system. We operate in four countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

I recommend focusing not on investments but on the product and customers. This will help find a niche and scale up.

Achievements in 2022

We grew by two and a half times in annual revenue, entering three more markets: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.

We moved our headquarters to Delaware, USA.

We closed a pre-seed round with 500 Global, UzVC, Activat, and two angel investors.

Plans for 2023

By the end of the year, we aim to connect more than 1,000 stores to Tass Retail.

In Tass Store, we want to open 240 locations in Tashkent, 100 locations in Astana, and 100 in Almaty. These will be smart refrigerators for the premium segment without cashiers.

We also aim to increase our company's turnover to over $1,500,000.