# Karan Bakshi

> Karan Bakshi is the founder and CEO of Vision Group Retail, a retail technology group combining connected-asset monitoring, image recognition, product data, space planning, and assortment simulation. Based in Ashburn, Virginia, his career includes software entrepreneurship and leadership across Vision IoT, Maxerience, and SMSB.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Vision Group Retail
- **Organizations:** Vision Group Retail, Vision IoT, Maxerience, SMSB Consulting Group, Insigma
- **Education:** BSc in Mathematical Sciences, Delhi University, MS in Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MS in Computer Science, SUNY Polytechnic Institute
- **Known for:** Founded and leads Vision Group Retail., Led a group that added Maxerience, SMSB capabilities, and Hivery to connect retail recognition, product data, planning, and simulation.

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Started a software-development business supporting manufacturers with Y2K remediation and application rewrites.
- **2007** — Co-founded Insigma; professional profiles list service as co-founder and vice-president through August 2021.
- **2014–2015** — Vision Group’s product history dates its first cooler-tracking solution to 2014 and its Coca-Cola Hellenic pilot to 2015.
- **2016** — Established Vision Group; professional profiles date his presidency to 2016.
- **2018** — Vision Group’s history records its acquisition of Maxerience.
- **2020** — Became president of Vision IoT as eBest IoT rebranded and Austin Groves returned as CEO.
- **2021** — Vision Group added SMSB capabilities; Bakshi’s SMSB presidency is listed from September.
- **2023** — Visited Indian offices during the company’s annual meet.
- **2025** — Vision Group announced its Hivery acquisition in January and a unified brand in December.
- **2026** — Published an essay about shelf substitutions and their consequences for planning data.

## Achievements

- Founded and leads Vision Group Retail.
- Led a group that added Maxerience, SMSB capabilities, and Hivery to connect retail recognition, product data, planning, and simulation.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Published The Actual Cost of “Filling the Hole” on the Shelf on January 16.
- **2025-12** — Vision Group announced that acquired retail capabilities would operate under a single refreshed brand on December 23.
- **2025-01** — Vision Group announced the acquisition of Hivery on January 14.

## Links

- Website: https://visiongroupretail.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karan-bakshi-11538616/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/karan-bakshi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23