Brno-based investment fund Purple Ventures has invested EUR 640 thousand in the Czech startup Buylo, which offers advanced RFID solutions for modern retail. The funds will support further development, continued international expansion, and the hiring of technical and sales staff. Buylo’s goal is to prove that brick-and-mortar stores can be just as efficient as online ones.
Buylo offers a technology that transforms and accelerates the functioning of stores and warehouses. Using RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags, sensors, self-checkout systems, and AI, it can automate inventories, detect theft, speed up sales, and track customer behaviour in real-time.
“We want to help retailers streamline operations and make shopping easier and faster for customers. Buylo is not just about cost savings; it’s about making retail data-driven, personalized, and transparent for both retailers and customers. I believe RFID is the future of retail and will soon be implemented by all major market players. Moreover, Buylo is not only effective for sales floors but also a strong tool for managing back-of-house operations. Thanks to this, we are expanding our client portfolio both in the Czech Republic—where we are currently implementing our solution for clients like Angry Beards—and abroad, where we’re also growing rapidly,” says Josef Voda, co-founder and CEO of Buylo, who has long been active in industrial and IT projects.
The startup was born within the Industrial IT group, which has long specialized in systems integration and implementing modern technologies in industry. Buylo evolved from pilot projects to collaborations with larger retail partners and has expanded internationally – for example, to the USA, where it is now part of a Czech innovation incubator. “I never liked traditional self-checkouts where the customer essentially becomes the cashier. I thought, there’s a simpler way. It soon became clear it wouldn’t be that easy, and many people tried to dissuade me. But that only made me more determined. Thanks to RFID, we’re not only eliminating unfriendly user experiences at self-checkouts but also dramatically increasing the efficiency of entire store operations,” adds Josef Voda.
Buylo’s technology enables store-wide inventory to be completed within minutes, without manual scanning, and helps reduce theft losses by up to 80% by integrating with camera systems and AI. It also delivers faster shopping experiences thanks to RFID-enabled self-checkout systems that scan the entire shopping basket in a second.
For customers, shopping becomes an instant and highly personalized experience. In addition to fast scanning at self-checkout, they can choose to pay directly via QR codes on the products. The system can also offer personalized discounts on items they have previously viewed, thanks to in-store cameras and AI. All data is anonymized, used only in real-time, and not stored.
“Retail is a sector with a huge volume of money, but data culture has been slow to take hold. Buylo offers a solution that not only reduces costs and increases sales, but more importantly, gives retailers control. And since it’s being developed in the Czech Republic by a smart and driven team, the investment was a clear choice for us,” says Jakub Nytra, founder of Purple Ventures and co-founder of the Purple Group.
Buylo has already completed its first pilot implementations and is preparing for further international expansion. In addition to the Czech Republic, it is now active in markets like Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria through clothing stores Numero Uno, and in Slovakia through a partnership with YOYOSO, a chain offering a wide range of everyday products. The investment from Purple Ventures will enable Buylo to expand its product portfolio and strengthen partnerships with retail equipment manufacturers. Specialized modules for fashion retail and solutions for smaller budget retailers are also in development.
