QR code platform Beaconstac raises $25 million

Beaconstac is a QR code customer engagement platform that’s stacking $$$. The startup recently closed on a $25 million Series A funding round, which it hopes to use to further the company’s mission of helping its users create QR campaigns that can be used for marketing data collection, and/or everyday operations.

The company declined to disclose revenue figures, but said it grew 200% over the course of the last year.

Co-founder and chief executive Sharat Potharaju believes the QR market is poised to grow. He told Retail Brew that 1.8 million QR codes generated by Beaconstac were scanned 150 million times worldwide by customers last year. Plus, more than 30% of US adults already use smartphones to redeem or scan coupons while checking out in-store, according to a Prosper Insights & Analytics survey. The number of unique smartphone users scanning a QR code is predicted to reach 99.5 million by 2025, increasing from 83.4 million in 2022, according to eMarkerter.

• Beaconstac will use its latest cash infusion to develop its platform and grow its 75-person workforce by roughly 200% this year.
• Potharaju says the appeal for QR codes include reducing friction and streamlining operations by “digitizing access to content versus manuals or physical documents.”
• Also, users can drive customer engagement and measure the return on investment of physical marketing channels, including the ability to collect first-party data.

Since there are touchpoints between brands and consumers, Potharaju said there is a greater need for frictionless tech that meets consumers off and online.

“This funding validates our leadership position in the market and gives us the resources to build additional products on our platform, as well as continue helping businesses embrace QR codes for customer engagement,” he said.

Beaconstac’s clients range from small to large businesses, which include Revlon, Amazon, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. The company crossed the 20,000-customer threshold last September. Potharaju said the biggest barrier to widespread adoption is getting companies to understand that codes can be scanned “by just pointing the phone camera” and there’s no need for third-party apps.

• “As businesses and brands discovered the many benefits of QR code adoption, we began to see a need for a robust platform that let companies manage and scale their operations in a centralized way,” Potharaju said. “We’re seeing more companies than ever use Beaconstac to drive their customer engagement efforts, citing our scalability, flexibility, and security as key differentiators.”