Arkade, a retail technology and supply chain greenhouse located in Bentonville, Arkansas, has marked its first anniversary after supporting 14 member companies in raising nearly $29 million in funding.
The organization, housed in the Ledger building, celebrated its anniversary on September 9, bringing together member companies, partners, and stakeholders from across the retail and supply chain ecosystem.
Arkade was founded by Are Traasdahl, who also founded Crisp, the leading AI retail data platform, alongside private family office Spring Capital, to give global retail and supply chain companies a strategic home base in Northwest Arkansas.
The greenhouse was designed specifically as a springboard for growth-stage companies seeking to establish a U.S. presence, offering direct access to the region’s dense network of major retailers, suppliers, and logistics companies.
In its first year, member companies secured ten pilots and contracts with major retailers and brands, including Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Tyson, and Home Depot (NYSE: HD), demonstrating the value of proximity to the region’s retail giants.
Member companies collectively raised $28.8 million in funding during Arkade’s first year, with an additional $15 million reported as currently in the pipeline.
“Bentonville is the retail capital of the world, and Arkade gives late-stage growth companies a real way to form meaningful connections,” said Traasdahl.
“A year in, seeing our member companies land pilots with Walmart, Tyson, and Home Depot demonstrates exactly why brands are choosing to invest here,” Traasdahl added.
Alongside its anniversary, Arkade announced serial entrepreneur John Collins as its first entrepreneur-in-residence, bringing with him two successful exits from companies OmniiX and Chargeguard.
Collins is currently CEO of creatorXchange, a human-powered ad network connecting creators with paid distribution across social media platforms.
“The Arkade community and space sits at the top of what I’ve been looking for… The environment, the people, the scene, and camaraderie fit the bill,” said Collins.
Arkade’s three program-level partners, Endeavor Heartland, Fuse Accelerator, and Nasdaq Milestone Circles, have helped anchor the organization’s broader mission to connect global innovators with the U.S. retail market.
Beyond funding and contracts, member companies collectively created 15 new jobs in Northwest Arkansas, while Arkade itself hosted 59 events drawing more than 650 unique attendees over the course of the year.
Founding member Crisp remains among the 14 companies currently based at Arkade, reinforcing the greenhouse’s positioning as a hub for enterprise-ready innovation at the center of American retail.
