Big retailers are showing more and more that they’re not just about to let the tech wave pass them by.
The latest example? BlackLocus, an Austin, Texas based startup that builds technology that helps retailers make data-driven pricing decisions, has been acquired by home improvement retail giant Home Depot.
The deal was announced in a blog post today by BlackLocus, which began several years ago while its founders were getting graduate degrees at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (they reportedly started moving operations to Texas last year.) According to BlackLocus, going forward its staff will remain in Austin and be the founding base for the new “Home Depot Innovation Lab.” No word yet on what will happen to its current customers.
Details on how much Home Depot paid for the company have not been disclosed. Last year, BlackLocus closed on $2.5 million in funding from Houston-based seed VC firm DFJ Mercury and Silverton Partners; there are currently 32 BlackLocus employees listed on LinkedIn, so it seems to be a sizable team (we’ve reached out for more information and will update this with what we hear.)
This is not Home Depot’s first bit of M&A in tech startup land. Earlier this year, the company snapped up Redbeacon, the home services marketplace startup that received the top prize at TechCrunch 50 back in 2009.
BlackLocus is the leading provider of automated and optimized pricing tools for mid-market and large online retailers. By combining competitive pricing data from across the web with customers’ online store data, BlackLocus delivers actionable recommendations on competitive pricing and assortment. Powered by top talent and research from Carnegie Mellon University, BlackLocus deploys sophisticated machine learning and revenue management techniques in a pricing-as-a-service model, enabling retailers to price to win. BlackLocus is based in Austin, TX.
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