Standard Cognition
Standard AI builds AI-powered computer vision software that converts existing retail security cameras into real-time, privacy-safe shopper behavior, media effectiveness, and loss prevention analytics for brick-and-mortar retailers and CPG brands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Standard Cognition does
Standard Cognition, Corp., doing business as Standard AI, is a San Francisco-based (incorporated in Delaware) computer vision company founded in 2017 (operations began in 2015) that builds AI-powered spatial intelligence for physical retail and adjacent spaces. Its core technology uses existing security camera infrastructure together with edge compute to track shoppers, employees, and product interactions in real time without facial recognition, transforming raw video into anonymized, structured behavioral and operational data. The product portfolio spans the VISION Analytics Platform (a SaaS subscription delivering heatmaps, traffic patterns, Visual Engagement Scores, verified impressions, and conversion funnel analysis), Zone Monitoring with Tobacco Tracker, Beer Tracker, and Fresh Food Tracker sub-products for loss prevention in convenience retail, the Skip self-checkout option, and full Autonomous Checkout experiences. VisionOS, the underlying operating system, is covered by 46 granted patents.
The company sells primarily through an enterprise field sales motion targeting large retailers and CPG brands, supported by a pilot program (4-6 week calibration) and active presence at industry events such as NRF 2025, where it co-exhibited with Axis Communications and Google Cloud. Pricing is quote-based with annual subscriptions, and named customers include Friendly Express (convenience retail), Chartwells Higher Education/Compass Group, a leading CPG brand, a national automotive retailer, a global travel retail group, and a regional retailer. Strategic investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (lead, Series C), CRV, EQT Ventures, SK Networks, Y Combinator, and TI Platform Management; the company reached a $1 billion valuation in February 2021 following a $150 million Series C and has pursued continuous tuck-in M&A (Explorer.ai, DeepMagic, Checkout Technologies, ThirdEye, Skip, Pathr.ai). Leadership is led by CEO Angie Westbrock and CTO David Woollard, PhD.
Standard Cognition firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Standard Cognition
- Legal name
- Standard Cognition, Corp.
- Website
- https://standard.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Standard AI builds AI-powered computer vision software that converts existing retail security cameras into real-time, privacy-safe shopper behavior, media effectiveness, and loss prevention analytics for brick-and-mortar retailers and CPG brands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Standard Cognition industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Computer Vision Analytics
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621)
- SIC
- Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/Analytics Video Surveillance (Detection, LPR, People Counting) (HSAHACAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Object Detection & Tracking (HDAAAEAB)
Keywords
Where Standard Cognition is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Standard Cognition business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- VISION Analytics Subscription: SaaS subscription model for the VISION analytics platform. Provides real-time shopper behavior insights, product performance data, and in-store media measurement. Pricing based on store size and number of cameras deployed.
- Zone Monitoring Solutions: Per-zone or subscription-based monitoring for loss prevention and inventory management in tobacco, beer, and fresh food sections. Includes real-time notifications and analytics dashboards.
- Autonomous Checkout Technology: Computer vision-powered checkout-free shopping experience. Customers shop, tap, and go without waiting in line. Platform creates virtual cart and associates with payment method on file.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom enterprise pricing based on deployment scope |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Standard Cognition product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Standard AI provides a computer vision and AI-powered spatial intelligence platform that transforms retailers' existing security cameras into real-time shopper behavior analytics, autonomous checkout, and loss prevention tools. The platform runs anonymized tracking via edge compute, offering the VISION Analytics Platform, Zone Monitoring modules (Tobacco, Beer, Fresh Food Trackers), Skip self-checkout, and full autonomous checkout experiences for brick-and-mortar retailers and CPG brands.
Product overview
Standard AI (Standard Cognition) offers a modular retail AI platform combining spatial intelligence and checkout solutions. The core VISION Analytics Platform transforms existing security cameras into real-time shopper intelligence, while specialized Zone Monitoring modules (Tobacco Tracker, Beer Tracker, Fresh Food Tracker) address loss prevention in high-value zones. The product portfolio also includes Skip self-checkout and full autonomous checkout experiences, all unified by computer vision technology that tracks shoppers anonymously without facial recognition. The platform is designed for quick installation in existing retail environments with a calibration period of 4-6 weeks.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- VISION: AI-powered analytics platform that provides real-time insights into shopper behavior, product performance, and store operations using existing security cameras.
- Zone Monitoring
- Skip
- VISION Analytics
- Visual Engagement Score (VES)
- VisionOS
Products and services
- VISION Analytics Platform AI-powered retail analytics platform that transforms existing security cameras into real-time shopper behavior intelligence. Provides heatmaps, traffic patterns, Visual Engagement Scores, and conversion funnel analysis without facial recognition. Targeted at retailers and CPG brands seeking in-store media and shopper analytics.
- Zone Monitoring Visual AI solution for managing inventory and preventing loss in specific store zones such as tobacco, beer, and fresh food sections. Uses three to five cameras over transaction zones with sophisticated visual AI monitoring every shelf interaction and providing real-time notifications and analytics dashboards.
- Autonomous Checkout Computer vision-powered checkout-free shopping experience where customers shop and exit without waiting in line. The platform creates a virtual cart and associates it with the payment method on file for frictionless transactions in physical retail stores.
- Skip Self-Checkout Self-checkout option enabling shoppers to tap their mobile devices against a designated in-store fixture to activate checkout. Allows shop, tap, and go without waiting in line; augments in-store teams in convenience retail settings.
- VISION Spatial Intelligence Platform Spatial intelligence platform that uses camera-based AI to understand how people move, interact, and engage within physical spaces. Delivers privacy-safe insights about shopper behavior and store operations across retail, manufacturing, and restaurant environments.
Quantifiable outcome
- Retail shrink reached over $112 billion in 2022, over $130 billion by 2023 (NRF data)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Standard Cognition
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Standard Cognition technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
Standard Cognition partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Axis CommunicationscoreCo-exhibited with Standard AI at NRF 2025. Strategic camera hardware partner whose cameras are used for VISION platform deployment in retail environments.
- Google CloudcoreCo-exhibited with Standard AI at NRF 2025. Strategic cloud partnership for platform deployment and data processing.
- Friendly ExpressminorConvenience retailer piloting Zone Monitoring including Tobacco and Fresh Food Trackers. Using Skip self-checkout to augment in-store teams.
- Chartwells Higher Ed (Compass Group)coreDeployed autonomous checkout technology. Partner statement: 'Checkout-free technology has brought a new experience to our retail environment. Through our partnership with Standard, we've transformed a current store into a completely frictionless operation, and we're excited to retrofit more stores in the near future.'
- NVIDIAcoreKey technology partner. NVIDIA technology powers the AI and computer vision capabilities of the VISION platform.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Standard Cognition competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- VusionGroup: European-listed retail-tech incumbent (formerly SES-imagotag) providing IoT ESL shelf labels plus store-analytics and computer-vision modules to large grocers; broad incumbent that overlaps with Standard AI on in-store retail-media measurement.
- Amazon (Just Walk Out): Amazon's Just Walk Out technology is the scale incumbent in computer-vision autonomous checkout, deployed across Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, and third-party stadiums/stores; competes with Standard AI on the same retailer pipeline with effectively unlimited capex tolerance.
- NCR Voyix: Enterprise retail POS and store-operations vendor expanding into computer-vision loss prevention and self-checkout (including the recent acquisition of Retalix-era assets); competes with Standard AI on loss-prevention and self-checkout RFPs inside large grocer and c-store IT stacks.
- Cisco (Meraki Vision for Retail): Cisco's Meraki camera + analytics platform is the closest large-networking incumbent offering retailers computer-vision analytics on existing infrastructure; competes with Standard AI's use-existing-cameras positioning at the broad-IT layer.
Direct peers
- Zippin: Checkout-free platform combining computer vision with sensor fusion for convenience and grocery chains; pitches the same autonomous-checkout + analytics narrative to enterprise retailers as Standard AI.
- AiFi: Camera-based checkout-free platform deployed in convenience stores, sports venues, and college campuses; competes head-to-head with Standard AI's Skip and autonomous-checkout SKUs on the same enterprise retail RFPs.
- Trigo: Israeli computer-vision company building camera-only autonomous checkout and store-analytics for grocery and convenience retailers; closest direct competitor to Standard AI on the autonomous-checkout value proposition and target customer.
- Shopic: Smart-cart and clip-on camera provider delivering in-store analytics and frictionless checkout for grocery chains; overlaps with Standard AI on shopper-behavior analytics and grocery enterprise accounts.
- Grabango: Checkout-free computer-vision platform serving grocery and convenience retailers with a similar camera-only retrofit approach to Standard AI's VISION and Skip product lines.
Emerging players
- Focal Systems: Retail computer-vision startup focused on out-of-stock detection, planogram compliance, and shelf analytics for grocery; complements rather than fully overlaps Standard AI but competes for the same in-store-analytics budget.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Standard Cognition social profiles
Digital presenceStandard Cognition financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Standard Cognition leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Standard Cognition subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Standard Cognition funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors27 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Standard Cognition M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A6 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Standard Cognition
What does Standard Cognition do?
Standard AI provides a computer vision and AI-powered spatial intelligence platform that transforms retailers' existing security cameras into real-time shopper behavior analytics, autonomous checkout, and loss prevention tools. The platform runs anonymized tracking via edge compute, offering the VISION Analytics Platform, Zone Monitoring modules (Tobacco, Beer, Fresh Food Trackers), Skip self-checkout, and full autonomous checkout experiences for brick-and-mortar retailers and CPG brands.
Is Standard Cognition a public or private company?
Standard Cognition is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Standard Cognition founded?
Standard Cognition was founded in 2017. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Standard Cognition based?
Standard Cognition is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Standard Cognition make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. VISION Analytics Subscription is the primary driver. The others are zone Monitoring Solutions and autonomous Checkout Technology.
Who are Standard Cognition's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are VusionGroup, Amazon (Just Walk Out), NCR Voyix and Cisco (Meraki Vision for Retail). Direct peers are Zippin, AiFi, Trigo, Shopic and Grabango. Focal Systems is listed as an emerging player.
Does Standard Cognition have an API?
No public API is recorded for Standard Cognition.
What industry is Standard Cognition in?
Standard Cognition's product category is Retail Computer Vision Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSAHACAF, AI/Analytics Video Surveillance (Detection, LPR, People Counting), with a secondary code of HDAAAEAB, Object Detection & Tracking. Its NAICS code is 561621 and its SIC code is 3829.