This article covers Reelables, a London startup, which has raised £7.8m in a series A funding round to scale production of its printable active smart labels. The financing will expand engineering, operations and manufacturing capacity to support mass production of item-level tracking labels that provide real-time visibility for logistics, retail and manufacturing.
Reelables has raised £7.8m in a series A funding round to scale production of its printable active smart labels, a technology designed to provide item-level tracking and real-time visibility for logistics, retail and manufacturing. The financing will be used to grow engineering and operations teams, advance product development and expand manufacturing capacity as the London startup targets mass production of up to 100 million labels per year.
Item-level tracking has long been a pain point in complex supply chains because conventional barcode and RFID systems still require manual intervention or costly infrastructure. Reelables’ printable active labels aim to change that by enabling high-volume, low-cost tracking that can be printed on standard thermal barcode printers and disposed of after use. If the hardware and economics hold up at scale, the approach could reduce shrinkage, speed inventory reconciliation and improve cold chain monitoring for perishable goods — practical benefits for logistics providers, carriers and retailers.
Reelables produces paper-thin active smart labels that come in Bluetooth and 5G variants. The labels use thin-film electronics and flexible, coated batteries to keep the form factor compatible with existing barcode printers, according to the company. Labels pair with Reelables’ software to report item location, inventory counts and temperature data for cold-chain items without manual barcode scanning or the bulky devices used in some cellular tracking systems.
The company says it has reached mass production of this label category, grew more than 200 percent this year and plans to scale output to 100 million labels per year. The Series A proceeds will be directed at expanding manufacturing capacity, hiring across engineering and operations, and accelerating product roadmap work.
The series A included participation from Amigos Ventures, Moneta, Raptor Group, Silicon Labs and Smooth Brain. Reelables is also backed by Y Combinator and 500S from earlier stages.
Strategically, the presence of Silicon Labs stands out: it is a semiconductor and connectivity firm whose involvement signals interest from partners across the IoT and hardware stack. The round mixes venture and strategic investors, supporting both R&D and go-to-market scale for a hardware-heavy business.
In the announcement, Ross Sabolcik, Senior Vice President of Product Lines at Silicon Labs, said:
Smart label technology is transforming supply chain transparency and empowering businesses with better data Reelables' innovations have the potential to not only improve product tracking and efficiency but also foster greater trust and reliability across vital sectors like retail and pharma. Reelables has honed in on an exciting asset tracking market, which is expected to reach £65.7bn ($88B) by 2033.
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In the announcement, David Stanton, co-founder of Reelables, said:
The advanced manufacturing process of our active smart labels enables us to deliver scalable and cost-effective tracking solutions, empower our customers to achieve real-time supply chain visibility, The new round of funding and support, combined with Carter’s expertise, will allow us to expand our production, improve partner engagement, and introduce new solutions for our customers currently under development.
The company also named Tom Carter as chief operating officer. Carter brings 25 years’ experience across IoT, SaaS, telecommunications and AI, having held technology and operations roles at organisations including AskPorter, Ostmodern and Drayson Technologies. Reelables positions the hire as operational leadership to support an industrial-scale manufacturing push.
Reelables’ raise highlights continued investor appetite for hardware-enabled supply chain innovations that can be deployed at scale. As e-commerce volumes and regulatory focus on traceability increase, demand for item-level visibility and low-cost tracking will grow, drawing both venture and corporate capital into the segment.
For the UK and European ecosystem, the round is notable for backing a London-headquartered company moving from prototyping to mass production. If Reelables can meet its volume targets and unit-cost ambitions, it could help lower the barriers for broader adoption of active labels across logistics and retail in the region, and attract further interest from supply chain investors.
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Amigos Ventures( ) | ||||
![]() Moneta( ) | ReelablesRailsr | |||
![]() Y Combinator( ) Y Combinator is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology startup... San Francisco, US | ||||
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