A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) is fundamentally changing the retail landscape with its Cust2Mate smart cart solution, but are you truly tracking the financial implications of this shift?

This technology leader, which recently launched a dedicated AI and Business Insight Division in October 2025, is sitting on a strong balance sheet with approximately $70.4 million in cash and investments as of Q3 2025, a critical war chest for its global rollout strategy.

While the company reported Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) revenue of $7.06 million USD in 2025, the real story is the operational momentum: its stock has soared nearly 45% this year on the back of major strategic partnerships, suggesting its growth story is defintely accelerating.

We need to break down how this smart cart business model works and where the next wave of revenue will come from.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) History

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) has a history that stretches back decades, but its current focus as a global leader in smart retail technology, primarily through its Cust2Mate smart cart division, is a much more recent, transformative evolution. The company's journey began with a broader scope in defense and security, which provides the deep engineering backbone for its modern retail solutions.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company was established in 1988 as a developer of smart technological systems for both the retail and the defense and security markets.

Original location

While the company maintains a dual presence and its current corporate headquarters is in Vancouver, Canada, its operational and technological roots are deeply tied to Israel, which is where much of its advanced engineering and smart cart development takes place.

Founding team members

A2Z was founded by serial entrepreneur Joseph Ben Tsur. The current strategic direction and rapid global expansion are led by CEO Gadi Graus.

Initial capital/funding

The initial capital from 1988 is not publicly detailed, but the company's current growth is fueled by significant funding in the 2025 fiscal year. A2Z secured a $12.5 million capital round in December 2024, followed by a $30 million follow-on in January 2025. Most recently, in September 2025, the company completed an oversubscribed equity financing round, raising $45 million at $8.00 per share, which was anchored by prominent financial institutions.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory shifted dramatically when it moved from a diversified technology portfolio-including precision metal parts and defense products-to center its future on the Cust2Mate smart cart. This was a defintely a high-stakes decision.

• The Smart Cart Focus: The formal name change in August 2024 to A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Corp. signaled a clear commitment to retail automation as the primary growth engine, moving the smart cart from a promising product line to the company's core identity.
• Shift to Recurring Revenue: The company successfully transitioned its business model to a recurring revenue stream, where monthly charges are applied per cart deployed. This is a critical move, as the June 2025 order for 3,000 carts, valued at over $25 million, is structured under this multi-year, software-driven model.
• Retail Media Monetization: A key transformative step in late 2025 was securing rights to monetize retail media and digital services on the smart carts, which will trigger new commission-based revenue streams. This was highlighted by landmark advertising agreements with retailers like Toys 'R' Us Israel and The Red Pirate in September 2025.

This focus on digital asset monetization and the successful 2025 capital raises-totaling over $75 million-have positioned A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. to execute its global expansion strategy. You can read more about the strategic direction in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ).

Next Step: Review the Q3 2025 earnings report, scheduled for November 18, 2025, for updated metrics on cart deployment and recurring revenue growth.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Ownership Structure

The ownership structure of A2Z Smart Technologies Corp., which operates as A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Corp., is a mix of institutional, insider, and public retail holdings, with the majority of shares held by the public market.

This distribution is typical for a growth-focused, publicly-traded technology company, but the relatively high insider stake of nearly 20% shows strong alignment between management and shareholder interests. You can dig deeper into the company's recent performance in Breaking Down A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Current Status

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) is a publicly traded entity, listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol AZ.

As of November 2025, the company's market capitalization is approximately $232.16 million, reflecting its status as a small-cap player in the retail technology sector. This public status means the company is subject to stringent reporting requirements by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), giving you transparency into its operations and financials.

The company's fiscal year ends on December 31, 2025, and recent Q3 2025 results highlighted a strong balance sheet with $70.4 million in cash and equivalents as of September 30, 2025.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The shareholder base is segmented into three primary groups, with the largest portion belonging to the general public. Here's the quick math on who holds the shares, based on the most recent 2025 fiscal year data:

The insider ownership of 19.53% is defintely a high figure for a NASDAQ-listed company, suggesting strong confidence from those running the business. Institutional ownership at 17.33% is lower than many tech peers, but it's growing, especially after a $45 million equity raise completed in September 2025.

Given Company's Leadership

The leadership team, which has an average tenure of about 1.3 years, is relatively new, which can signal a fresh strategic direction focused on scaling the Cust2Mate smart cart solution globally. The key leaders steering the company as of November 2025 are:

• Bentsur Joseph, Chairman of the Board: A key figure who provides strategic oversight and continues to serve as Chairman.
• Gadi Graus, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Director: Appointed in April 2024, he also serves as the CEO of the Cust2Mate subsidiary, streamlining the corporate structure.
• Alan Rootenberg, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Director: Appointed in August 2024, he brings over 45 years of financial experience to the role.
• Elkana Porag, Deputy CEO & Chief Technology Officer (CTO): Responsible for the technological roadmap and innovation of the smart cart platform.
• Fraser Neil, Chief Sales Officer (CSO): Focuses on accelerating global commercial expansion and securing new retail partnerships.

The board's decision to appoint Gadi Graus as CEO of both the parent company and its main subsidiary, Cust2Mate, was a clear move to simplify governance and focus all resources on the core smart cart technology. That's a smart move for a company in a high-growth market.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Mission and Values

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. stands for transforming the retail experience by blending advanced technology with everyday shopping, aiming to be the global leader in smart-cart platforms. This focus on digitalization and personalization is their cultural defintely DNA, driving their core purpose beyond just revenue.

While the company's Q3 2025 report showed an operating loss of $4.1 million, their mission-driven deployment of the Cust2Mate system with partners like Yochananof is expected to generate meaningful revenue for the full 2025 fiscal year, underscoring the commercialization of this core purpose.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.'s Core Purpose

The company's purpose is rooted in taking complex, specialized technology-often derived from its advanced engineering and military-focused segments-and applying it to create simple, high-value automation solutions for the civilian retail market.

This dual-market strategy is critical. It means the same focus on security and precision engineering that develops the Fuel Tank Inertia Capsule System technology (FTICS) for the military is what ensures the transaction integrity and theft mitigation features in the smart carts.

The core values that guide their product development and strategic decisions are:

• Innovation: Continuously enhancing the Cust2Mate platform, like the new Cart 3.0, which features a detachable control panel and overhauled software.
• Customer Experience: Creating an enjoyable, personalized, and efficient shopping journey that allows shoppers to bypass checkout lines.
• Operational Excellence: Delivering data-driven insights to retailers to streamline store operations and optimize merchandising.
• Security and Integrity: Utilizing multi-layered security (computer vision, AI anomaly detection) to minimize shrinkage (theft) for retailers.

You can see the financial impact of this focus in Breaking Down A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Official Mission Statement

The official mission statement, primarily articulated through its flagship subsidiary Cust2Mate, is a clear roadmap for their market strategy. It's not just about selling a product; it's about fundamentally changing the shopping environment.

• Be the leading global provider of smart-cart platforms.
• Unlock the full potential of every in-store shopping journey through digitalization and personalization.
• Deliver superior shopping experiences, streamline store operations, and connect the online world with the physical store.

Vision Statement

The company's vision extends beyond the current product rollout, focusing on establishing market leadership and leveraging its strong financial position-like the $81.6 million in total shareholders' equity reported in Q3 2025-to scale globally.

• Accelerate the growth trajectory and bring revolutionary smart cart solutions to more global markets.
• Advance the position as a leader in smart retail technologies worldwide.
• Adapt military technology and know-how for broader civilian use, expanding their technological footprint.

The goal is to be the indispensable technology that bridges the gap between traditional brick-and-mortar retail and the digital economy. That's the long game.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. Slogan/Tagline

While a single, formal slogan isn't consistently used across all segments, the company frequently uses powerful, descriptive phrases to capture the essence of its retail automation product.

• Supermarket Shopping Reimagined.
• A NEW SHOPPING PARADIGM.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) How It Works

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. operates as a diversified technology firm, but its core value proposition in 2025 centers on transforming brick-and-mortar retail through its AI-powered Cust2Mate smart cart system, bridging the gap between online and in-store shopping. The company generates revenue by selling this smart cart hardware and, critically, by monetizing the in-store shopper data and digital advertising opportunities it creates.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.'s Product/Service Portfolio

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.'s Operational Framework

The company's operational focus is on a two-pronged revenue model: hardware sales and recurring software/data monetization. In the trailing twelve months leading up to November 2025, the company reported revenue of $7.06 Million USD, though its gross profit margin remains strong at 27.71% based on the last financial report.

This gross profit comes from a process that starts with the physical deployment of the Cust2Mate carts, which then act as a platform for high-margin, recurring revenue. You can see this shift in strategy in the recent launch of their new AI and Business Insights Division in October 2025. That division is defintely focused on maximizing the software side of the business.

• Deploy smart cart hardware to retailers like Yochananof, recognizing initial sales revenue.
• Capture anonymized, real-time shopping data via the cart's sensors and computer vision capabilities.
• Use the new AI Division's generative AI to create personalized, time-and-place-specific promotions for shoppers.
• Monetize the on-cart screen space through commission-based retail media agreements with brands like Lego and Toys 'R' US.
• Provide ongoing maintenance and software-as-a-service (SaaS) fees for the cart platform, creating a sticky revenue stream.

Here's the quick math: the initial hardware sale is a lower-margin entry point, but the subsequent retail media and SaaS fees are the high-margin, scalable play. The company is actively moving from a simple hardware seller to a retail data platform. Exploring A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.'s Strategic Advantages

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. holds a few clear advantages that enable its market success, especially in the smart cart space, which is still in its early adoption phase. The most immediate advantage is its financial position following a recent equity raise. As of September 30, 2025, the company had approximately $70.4 million in cash and investments, which is a massive war chest for a company with a TTM revenue of $7.06 Million USD.

This strong balance sheet gives them the runway to execute large-scale deployments, even while reporting an operating loss of $4.1 million in Q3 2025. Plus, the technological lead and global partnerships are key differentiators.

• Capital Strength: Ended Q3 2025 with total assets of $81.9 million, providing stability for aggressive global expansion and R&D investment.
• AI-Centric Platform: The dedicated AI and Business Insights Division accelerates development of high-value features like shrinkage mitigation and store operations optimization, moving beyond basic self-checkout.
• Global Commercial Pipeline: Secured major purchase orders, including a deal for 30,000 carts with Casino Group in France by 2026 and a 20,000 cart order for the Asia Pacific region by 2025, demonstrating real-world traction outside of the core Israeli market.
• Retail Media Focus: Positioning the cart as a premium in-store advertising platform taps into the rapidly growing retail media market, offering a path to higher-margin, recurring revenue streams that competitors are still trying to build.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) How It Makes Money

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. generates revenue through a dual-pronged business model: a legacy operation of manufacturing and engineering services, and its high-growth technology division, Cust2Mate, which sells and licenses Exploring A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why? smart shopping cart solutions to the retail sector.

The company's financial engine is currently in transition, shifting from relying on its traditional industrial segments to scaling its technology offering, where the majority of future value is expected to be unlocked.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.'s Revenue Breakdown

As of mid-2025, the Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) revenue for A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. stood at approximately $7.49 million. This figure reflects the historical revenue base from its legacy segments, though the Smart Carts segment is poised for a significant increase in the final quarter of 2025 due to new contract fulfillment.

Business Economics

The company's economic fundamentals are defined by the distinct operating models of its three segments. The core strategy is to transition from the transactional, lower-margin industrial segments to the high-margin, recurring revenue model of Cust2Mate.

• Smart Carts (Cust2Mate): The revenue model here is a hybrid of hardware sales and a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription. Retailers pay an upfront cost for the physical smart cart units, plus a recurring, multi-year software fee per cart deployed, often tied to a three-year contract. The real long-term value lies in the retail media and data rights, which generate high-margin revenue through targeted advertising and shopper insights. Honestly, this is the entire bull case for the stock.
• Precision Metal Parts: This segment operates on a traditional contract manufacturing model. Revenue is generated through the sale of custom-made precision metal parts, primarily serving the military and civilian automotive industries. Pricing is cost-plus, driven by material costs, labor, and production volume, which results in a lower, but more predictable, gross profit margin-around 27.71% as reported earlier in 2025.
• Advanced Engineering: This segment provides complex electronic system maintenance, container leasing, and advanced engineering services, mostly to the military and security markets. This is a service-based, project-driven model, so revenue is less consistent than the manufacturing arm but can carry higher margins on specialized, high-value maintenance contracts.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.'s Financial Performance

The company's financial performance as of November 2025 reflects a company deep in a commercialization phase, prioritizing market penetration and product rollout over near-term profitability. You're looking at a classic growth-over-profit profile right now.

• Cash Position: The balance sheet is strong following capital raises, ending Q3 2025 with approximately $70.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, deposits, and short-term investments. This provides a significant runway for the Cust2Mate rollout.
• Operating Loss: Despite the strong cash position, the company is not yet profitable. The operating loss for Q3 2025 was $4.1 million, an increase from the $2.6 million loss in the same period last year. This reflects increased spending on research, development, and administrative expenses necessary to scale the smart cart business.
• Balance Sheet Growth: Total assets saw a significant increase, growing from $18.9 million at the end of 2024 to $81.9 million by September 2025, largely due to the capital infusion. Total shareholders' equity stood at $81.6 million as of September 30, 2025.
• Revenue Inflection Point: The key financial event for the full 2025 fiscal year is the recognition of meaningful revenues from the Yochananof agreement, with deliveries of the next-generation smart carts having commenced in Q3. This is expected to be a major boost to the Smart Carts segment revenue in the Q4 2025 report.

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ) Market Position & Future Outlook

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. is positioned as a high-growth disruptor in the nascent $2.25 billion global smart shopping cart market, focusing on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model over pure hardware sales. You should view the company as a technology platform with a small but rapidly expanding footprint, underpinned by a recent $45 million equity raise in September 2025 that provides a strong cash runway for its global rollout strategy.

Competitive Landscape

The smart cart space is still early, but it's dominated by retail giants with captive solutions. A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (Cust2Mate) holds a small percentage of the total market value, approximately 0.3% based on its trailing twelve-month revenue of $7.06 million against the estimated $2.25 billion market size in 2025. This low share reflects the market's fragmentation and the dominance of in-house solutions by major retailers.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategy hinges on converting large pilot projects into full-scale deployments, which will drive the high-margin recurring revenue from its software platform and retail media division. What this estimate hides is the execution risk of these massive international rollouts.

Industry Position

A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. is an innovative pure-play smart cart provider, distinct from the large retailers (Amazon) or pure software firms (Grabango) that also compete. The company's technology is a proven-in-use solution, with a unique five-layer theft mitigation system that is a defintely strong selling point for retailers battling shrinkage.

• Focus on High-Value Contracts: The company is securing large, multi-thousand-cart orders with major international chains, signaling enterprise-level product validation.
• Strong Balance Sheet: Total assets grew significantly from $18.9 million in 2024 to $81.9 million by September 2025, primarily due to the equity raise, providing a solid foundation for scaling operations.
• AI and Data Focus: The recent launch of a dedicated AI and Business Insight Division aims to maximize the value of the data collected, shifting the business model toward a high-margin data platform.

To understand the foundation of this strategy, you should review the company's core principles: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (AZ).