Google to acquire Irish retail tech start-up Pointy

KEY POINTS

• Google plans to acquire Irish retail tech start-up Pointy for an undisclosed amount.
• The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.
• Pointy has raised $19 million so far in venture capital.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Google I/O keynote session at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, May 7, 2019.

Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images

Alphabet's Google on Tuesday said it plans to acquire Pointy, an Irish retail start-up that helps traditional brick and mortar retailers list inventory online, for an undisclosed amount.

The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks, Google said in a press release.

Retailers use Pointy's software to automatically track store inventory. That information is then displayed on Google's "see what's in store" section, and on a Pointy page, so customers can find specific items that are in-stock near them.

"Over the past several years we've developed a very close partnership with Google," Pointy founders Marks Cummins and Charles Bibby said in a release. "It became clear that we shared the same vision of how technology can improve local retail businesses."

Pointy has raised $19 million so far in venture capital, the company disclosed in July 2018.

"By joining forces, we will be able to help people discover local stores and products on a much larger scale," the Pointy founders wrote. "We think this is the right way to accomplish what we set out to do – to bring the world's retailers online and give them the tools they need to thrive."