5 Start-Ups Big Tech Is Eyeing in 2012

Retailigence

Corporate Partner: Motorola Solutions

What It Does: Location-based shopping

Retailigence raised $2.6 million in January from Motorola Solution's(MSI) venture arm.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company works with retailers to publish their local inventory data on mobile applications they've partnered with. This allows customers to look up on their phones which items their local grocery or clothing stores are carrying.

Retailigence is trying to help brick-and-mortar retailers -- who spend an estimated $60 billion annually to drive foot traffic into their stores -- but who are ignored by consumers looking up products on their mobile device.

"We very much recognize that when a consumer goes into a retail environment right now they have their smartphone with them," said Reese Schroeder, managing director of Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, who was responsible for the investment in Retailigence. "We're definitely interested in solutions and things that can help the retailer get customers into the store and to the item that the customer wants to buy in that store."

Launched in 2010, Retailigence has listings for more than 10 million products which are sold across 100,000 retail locations in the U.S. and Canada.