Shoptalk, Commerce Ventures unveil Shoptalk Ventures

Shoptalk, the largest retail and ecommerce conference, and Commerce Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm focused on commerce technology, have unveiled Shoptalk Ventures, a programme that has committed $1 million over the next 24 months to 20 ecommerce and retail technology startups. Shoptalk will become a limited partner in Commerce Ventures.

As a catalyst for the evolution of retail and e-commerce, Shoptalk will help identify some of the most promising companies in the industry, and become a limited partner in Commerce Ventures. The investment review, selection and due diligence will be managed independently by Commerce Ventures.

"Our goal with Shoptalk Ventures is to further support the early stage startup ecosystem that's enabling retail and e-commerce as it continues to transform for a digital age," said Anil D Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer of Shoptalk.

"We're thrilled to partner on this programme with Commerce Ventures, which has a successful, sector-specific track record of working with the investment community to fund promising new companies."

"We look forward to working with Shoptalk to identify and fund the next generation of ecommerce and retail technology leaders. Shoptalk has become the gathering place for next-generation industry thinkers and was a natural partner for this programme," said Dan Rosen, general partner of Commerce Ventures.

"This is a unique opportunity to bring the commerce community together and we are excited to engage with retailers as well as other investors to make this programme a success."