Silicon Road is the newest early-stage venture fund and accelerator focused on building the world’s first innovation ecosystem for retail and e-commerce.
 
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Silicon Road is seeking to bring investments and innovation to retail through a combination of startups, research and advisory services and an international conference in May 2020.
 
Retail is in desperate need of innovation. While much commerce is transacted online, 85% of purchases are still happening in-store and 90 cents of every retail dollar is spent in a physical location. To stay competitive, many retailers are shifting their investment strategies from growth via new stores to growth through investments in innovation.
 
“By bringing together investors and startups, Silicon Road is able to empower research and technology advancements for the future of retail technology,” said Sid Mookerji, founder and managing director of Silicon Road. “We are collaborating with retailers, startups, academia and investors to provide retail technology startups access to customers, distribution, and new markets to leverage entrepreneurial, retail industry and transaction expertise.”
 
The organization is in coordination with the Georgia Institute of Technology to connect with and sponsor cutting-edge research and intellectual property relevant to retail. It provides retail partners and portfolio companies access to Georgia Tech’s resources including its vast body of research and intellectual property, as well as development labs, prototype facilities, and top talent from both the faculty and student population.
 
Silicon Road also operates in Mysuru, India and has welcomed its first cohort in July 2019 with nine startups focusing on retail and food technology innovation. The US cohort is slated to kick off in Fall 2019.