RocketBoots Secures A3M to Supercharge AI Vision Tech Expansion in Retail

RocketBoots AI Funding

Another Australian tech darling is stepping up its gameand its funding. Sydney-based startup RocketBoots has just catapulted itself into the spotlight with a fresh $3 million injection in seed capital, gearing up to supercharge its cutting-edge computer vision platform. Yes, that’s rightyour shopping centre surveillance cameras just got smarter, sleeker, and sassier, all courtesy of a homegrown innovation outfit with a rather quirky name.

RocketBoots: Not Just a Cool Name

If the name makes you think of Inspector Gadget or Iron Man, you’re not entirely off the mark. RocketBoots has been stealthily working at the intersection of computer vision and real-world applications since 2017, building technology that helps retail spaces, banks, and property managers understand what’s happening in their physical environmentsminus the costly and messy sensor installations.

Unlike other solutions that require installing additional hardware or uprooting ceilings to run cables, RocketBoots’ platform, called Observa, turns existing security camera infrastructure into real-time decision-making tools. Think less “1984,” more “insights without intrusion.”

The Funding Fuel

The $3 million round, co-led by private equity firm OneVentures and emerging backers Alua Group and Melt Ventures, is more than just a confidence boost. It’s what you call rocket fuelpun very much intendedfor expansion. The company intends to scale its operations and technology, push further into international markets, and bring its visibility analytics to even more sectors itching for data-driven, real-world understanding.

CEO said the funding comes at a pivotal time as companies across industries wrestle with how to optimise operations without breaching privacy or burying themselves under infrastructure costs. “We’re excited to work with partners who understand our vision and can help us scale responsibly,” Hughes added.

Seeing the Invisible

So, what does RocketBoots’ tech actually do? Their software works with standard CCTV camerasyes, the ones already perched in ceilings of office lobbies, train stations, and bankstransforming video feeds into actionable data. We’re talking shopper footfall analysis, queue prediction, traffic patterns, and even identification of potential safety hazards.

For retailers, it means insights into consumer behaviours that previously flew under the radar. For property managers, it provides a clearer picture of building usage metrics. And for financial institutions, it’s sharp eyes on both operational efficiency and customer experienceall while keeping compliance and privacy front and centre.

Privacy as a Feature, Not a Footnote

Here’s the kicker: RocketBoots is taking a privacy-first approach. Unlike many tools in the market that dive headfirst into facial recognition and customer profiling, Observa is designed to gather insights without identifying individuals. It’s about patterns, not people. That means anonymous data, edge computing, and no pesky data storage nightmares.

“It’s always been our mission to empower organisations with rich, actionable data from their spaceswithout compromising on privacy, ethics, or feasibility,” said Hughes.

In other words, your store might know where shoppers tend to queue during lunch breaks, but it won’t know you’re Mark from Marketing with a penchant for energy drinks and granola bars.

The Road Ahead

With the fresh funds, RocketBoots plans to accelerate product development and continue building integrations with large-scale operationsespecially in international markets where camera infrastructure is virtually everywhere but underutilised. The company aims to double its headcount and speed up deployments across bigger commercial environments. They’re also exploring partnerships in Asia and Europe, where demand for scalable, intelligent infrastructure solutions is heating up.

So, next time you step into a shopping centre, takeaway joint, or even your bank branch, remember: RocketBoots might just be silently helping those spaces work smarter, not harder.

Final Thoughts

RocketBoots shows what Aussie ingenuity can achieve when tech meets practicality and a dash of ethics. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheelthey’re just helping it spin a whole lot smarter. Add in a little rocket thrust, and we’ve got ourselves one to watch.

As the race to digitise the physical world continues, RocketBoots is proving that the best visionaries aren’t necessarily looking fartherthey’re looking smarter.

Disclosure: This article is based on publicly available press information. No official or commercial relationship exists between the author and RocketBoots or its investors.