Polytech Ecosystem Ventures-backed BlueFox has collected $7m in series A capital from investors including Panasonic.

BlueFox, a US-based company developing customer engagement services for brands and retailers, has raised $7m in its series A round from a consortium including electronics maker Panasonic and technology services platform Pentalog.

Venture capital firms Baseline Ventures and NewGen Capital also contributed to the round.

Founded in 2016, BlueFox operates a cloud platform to measure foot traffic and customer engagement in physical locations. The technology relies on sensors that detect smartphone signals rather than Bluetooth beacons that are traditionally used.

Retailers and property owners can engage with consumers and visitors in real-time through text messages, without the need for dedicated mobile apps.

The technology can also be used in private homes to detect parties organised either by guests staying over through a service such as Airbnb or by children while parents are away.

The company previously obtained seed funding from Polytech Ecosystem Ventures, a university venturing fund connected to École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Pentalog and NewGen Capital in mid-2015.

Guillaume de La Tour, founder and CEO of BlueFox, said: “We are excited by the strength of our investors.

“The quality and depth of our sales pipeline illustrate the appetite for our technology from top tier brands and retailers who can now increase sales and manage premises better and cheaper than before.”

Patrick Suel, senior venture partner at Panasonic, said: “BlueFox.io technology has a number of applications, not only in retail but also in numerous connected domains that we believe the market will soon adopt.”

– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.