What Kairos Fire does

Kairos Fire is a Paris-headquartered adtech company, founded in 2019, that builds AI-driven media-measurement and optimization tools for retail brands with physical store networks. Its core offering, the Kairos AI platform, combines proprietary Bluetooth beacon hardware installed inside client stores with machine-learning algorithms trained on the resulting footfall data to attribute advertising exposure to in-store visits and revenue. The company claims 20x accuracy versus GPS-based alternatives, beacon hardware that operates autonomously for 5-10 years, and a dataset spanning 500,000 daily store visits, 10,000 footfall analyses, and 8+ years of campaign insights across 50,000+ equipped stores worldwide.

The product portfolio is organized into four modules — Activation Intelligence, Maximized Traffic, Cost Effectiveness, and the underlying Kairos AI engine — supported by Bluetooth beacons and real-time dashboards tracking cost per exposed visitor and media wastage index. Kairos operates a managed-service model: it deploys hardware, runs campaigns, and continuously reallocates budgets based on real-time in-store signals, charging clients on a custom-engagement basis tied to campaign scope and store-network size. Go-to-market is exclusively direct enterprise sales, with proof-of-concept pilots preceding full engagements, and the company maintains offices in Paris and New York to serve EMEA and North American clients.

The customer base comprises 13+ named enterprise logos spanning retail (Sephora, Westfield, Universal, Intermarché), beauty (Shiseido, Estée Lauder), automotive (Michelin, MG, Mini, EuroMaster), QSR (KFC), insurance (Allianz), and entertainment. The company is privately held as a French simplified joint-stock company (SAS) with €71,453 in stated capital and no disclosed venture funding or institutional investors in the source material.

Name

Kairos Fire

Legal name

KAIROS

Website

https://kairosfire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kairos Fire is an adtech company that uses proprietary Bluetooth beacons and machine-learning algorithms to connect digital media spend to in-store retail traffic for enterprise brands across retail, beauty, automotive, and QSR verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Managed Media Campaigns: Kairos manages advertising campaigns for clients, optimizing media spend based on contribution to in-store revenue. They deploy beacons, operate campaigns via KairosAI, and measure impact on store traffic. Revenue is generated through fees for campaign management, technology deployment, and optimization services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kairos Fire combines proprietary Bluetooth beacon hardware with AI-powered machine learning algorithms trained on in-store footfall data to help retail brands measure and optimize the contribution of media spend to physical store revenue. Their Kairos AI platform manages advertising campaigns end-to-end: deploying beacons in stores, activating targeted campaigns, and continuously reallocating budgets based on real-time visitor exposure data. The platform shifts media buying from clicks to verified in-store visitors.

Product overview

Kairos Fire offers a unified advertising technology platform built around its proprietary Kairos AI engine, designed to help retail brands optimize media spend based on in-store revenue contribution. The platform comprises four core service modules—Activation Intelligence for targeted campaign execution, Maximized Traffic for guaranteed visitor generation, and Cost Effectiveness for budget optimization—supported by Kairos Beacons (hardware sensors that collect in-store visit data) and Kairos Dashboards (real-time reporting). The architecture connects physical store traffic data collected via Bluetooth beacons with digital advertising campaigns to measure and optimize media contribution to actual in-store revenue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kairos AI The core advertising technology platform that maximizes the contribution of media budgets to in-store revenue by combining digital optimization power with in-store attribution accuracy, using proprietary hardware and AI-powered machine learning. Built for enterprise retail brands with physical store networks.
• Activation Intelligence Campaign activation platform leveraging large-scale in-store data to craft highly targeted shopping-intent audiences with enhanced geographical targeting and dynamic traffic-driven optimizations. Designed for retail brands seeking precise audience activation based on actual visitor behavior.
• Maximized Traffic Guaranteed visitor generation solution delivering both online and offline qualified traffic using a unique market-exclusive dataset to unlock high-intent shopper segments. Designed to drive measurable foot traffic to physical retail locations.
• Cost Effectiveness Budget optimization platform that helps brands identify locations driving highest sales and reallocate media spend to maximize in-store revenue performance while cutting excess tech and fees. Targets media waste reduction across retail networks.
• Kairos Beacons Battery-powered Bluetooth beacon devices installed in retail stores to collect in-store visit data, providing 20x more accurate location data than GPS-based solutions. Beacons run autonomously for 5-10 years with no connectivity or maintenance required, operational within 30 seconds of installation.
• Kairos Dashboards Real-time monitoring dashboard providing visibility into advertising effectiveness on in-store traffic, featuring metrics including number of exposed visitors, cost per exposed visitor (CPV), and media wastage index. Used by brand executives and store managers to track campaign impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20x more accurate store visit data compared to GPS-based solutions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• PlaceIQ: Location data and intelligence platform enabling advertisers to measure and optimize campaigns based on physical world visitation. Directly comparable to Kairos' offline attribution and footfall-driven media optimization, though PlaceIQ relies on software/SDK-based data rather than proprietary hardware.
• RetailNext: In-store analytics platform using sensors (including Bluetooth) to measure shopper behavior, traffic, and conversion for retailers. Highly comparable to Kairos' beacon hardware + analytics stack, though RetailNext focuses on in-store operations while Kairos emphasizes media attribution.
• Blis: Location-based advertising platform using geospatial data to power campaign targeting and attribution for brands. Comparable to Kairos' drive-to-store and footfall attribution use cases, particularly for enterprise retail and QSR clients, though Blis operates without proprietary hardware.
• Adsquare: European-based location data exchange enabling advertisers to plan, activate, and measure campaigns using real-world movement data. Comparable in-store attribution and retail media measurement offering, with strong European overlap matching Kairos' Paris footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Foursquare: Pioneer in location intelligence with a large POI and visitation dataset used by advertisers for audience targeting and offline attribution. Comparable to Kairos' footfall analytics and proximity targeting, though Foursquare's scale and diversified data sourcing differ from beacon-collected proprietary data.
• ShopperTrak (Sensormatic Solutions): Established retail traffic analytics provider (now part of Johnson Controls) offering footfall counting and shopper insights to retailers. Comparable in-store measurement capability, though ShopperTrak sits within a much larger building technologies portfolio and lacks Kairos' media optimization focus.

Emerging players

• Unacast: Location data and analytics company providing footfall insights and audience targeting to advertisers. Comparable offline attribution and audience segmentation offering, with a focus on aggregated mobility data rather than first-party beacon deployment.
• Cuebiq: Location intelligence and consumer insights platform using opt-in SDK data to measure campaign impact on store visits. Comparable offline attribution methodology for retail media, though data sourcing is software-based rather than hardware-deployed beacons.
• Euclid Analytics: In-store WiFi-based analytics provider measuring retail traffic, dwell time, and visit frequency. Closely comparable to Kairos' passive sensor-based footfall measurement, though using WiFi rather than Bluetooth beacons.

Others

• GeoPath: Non-profit organization providing audience measurement and analytics for out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Tangentially comparable as an industry measurement infrastructure provider that influences how physical-world media is valued, though its focus is OOH rather than in-store traffic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kairos Fire