- Slovak e-commerce company Luigi’s Box acquires Czech competitor Persoo in a multi-million euro deal
- The company will use the acquisition to consolidate their position as the search optimization leader in the Czech and Slovak markets.
- The deal also marks the first full exit from Czech VC Presto Ventures first fund Presto I, with the fund backing Persoo since 2019
Luigi’s Box, which uses AI to provide e-retailers with personalized search and product recommendations, has been profitable for the last four years and was ranked in the Deloitte Fast 50 in Central Europe for two consecutive years.
The Slovak e-commerce search platform is now moving into a new phase of growth with the acquisition of Persoo, which will be incorporated fully into Luigi’s Box.
“This opportunity has come at the right time in the evolution of Luigi’s Box. We’ve been working with Persoo on the acquisition for several months. We have a similar company culture, product, and vision for the future of e-commerce. We’re excited to have the Persoo team join us, bringing additional industry expertise and strengthening our position in Europe as we work towards new goals together. On the client side, the transition will be as seamless as possible. We’re confident that clients of both Persoo and Luigi’s Box will benefit from us joining forces, as they will now get an even better product,” said Gejza Nagy, co-founder and CEO of Luigi’s Box.
Synergy in search and making the most out of AI and ML
Both companies are in the business of developing personalized search and product recommendation for e-retailers, making full use of AI and ML capabilities.
Luigi’s Box has experienced several years of strong year-on-year growth, with more than 3,500 e-retailers now using their intelligent search. The acquisition of Persoo will now help them better serve their clients, and its integration into the structure of Luigi’s Box will bring innovations and optimizations to the e-commerce market.
“Persoo and Luigi’s Box have been following and inspiring each other for several years. Over the years, the idea of joining forces came up several times, and the merger was completed at the end of last year. The product synergies will be a great benefit for our joint client base. I’m excited about Persoo joining Luigi’s Box, forming an even stronger European player. I look forward to combining our strengths, expertise, experience, and ideas,” says Pavel Pinkas, co-founder and CEO of Persoo.
Founded in 2014 by a mathematician and AI expert Jakub Černý, Persoo’s solutuon aim to bring e-retail customers a shopping experience comparable to that of a traditional retail store. By combining AI and ML algorithms, Persoo can very reliably guess who the customer is and what they’re interested in, and show them products they’re very likely to buy
Additionally, Persoo’s solution has increased companies’ conversion rates from search by an average of 10-15%. The company has previously received investments from Presto Ventures and Lighthouse Ventures. Luigi’s Box investors include Neulogy Ventures and Leverage.
“We backed Persoo in 2019. Since then, the company has undergone many changes and developments that have propelled it forward – in terms of product, as well as the start of a successful foreign expansion. We’re happy to have played a part in their growth and believe that together with Luigi’s Box they will carry on this momentum across Europe,” Presto Ventures’s Roman Nováček commented on the acquisition.