Startup backed by American Eagle CEO reaches unicorn status in latest funding round

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · May 19, 2026 · 748 words · By Gabrielle Fonrouge

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What to know about Startup backed by American Eagle CEO reaches unicorn status in latest funding round

Radar, a startup backed by American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein that helps retailers manage in-store inventory and cut back on theft and lost merchandise, reached unicorn status with its latest funding round, CNBC has learned.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The company, founded in 2013 by Spencer Hewett, raised $170 million at a valuation of over $1 billion in its series B funding round, which was co-led by Gideon Strategic Partners and Nimble Partners with participation from Align Ventures.

Common ground

The company also counts Schottenstein among its investors.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Startup backed by American Eagle CEO reaches unicorn status in latest funding round?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Hewett said one of his clients saw a 60% reduction in shrink after launching Radar at one of its stores?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/19/radar-reaches-unicorn-status-in-series-b-funding…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

cancel Disputed 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

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Claim 1: “Hewett said one of his clients saw a 60% reduction in shrink after launching Radar at one of its stores.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding a 60% reduction in shrink.

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Claim 2: “The company, founded in 2013 by Spencer Hewett, raised $170 million at a valuation of over $1 billion in its series B funding round”

DISPUTED

While multiple sources confirm Spencer Hewett founded RADAR in 2013, Tracxn explicitly lists it as a 'series A company' that has raised a total of $63M, which directly contradicts the claim of a $170M Series B round and a $1 billion+ valuation.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brett Ratten (born 11 July 1971) is an Australian rules football coach and former player in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 255 games for the Carlton Football Club between 1990 and 200…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Ratten

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon is a 2005 first-person shooter psychological horror video game for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Developed by Monolith Productions and published by Viven…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.E.A.R._(video_game)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Gibb

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “When Hewett started the company with a boost from venture capitalist Peter Thiel's fellowship for young entrepreneurs”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources confirm Spencer Hewett was a Thiel Fellow and that Peter Thiel's fellowship supports young entrepreneurs.

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web search NEUTRAL — As a Thiel Fellow, YCombinator participant, a young CEO and a mastermind in creating something that never existed, here is Spencer’s humble advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: Don’t start something if y…
https://www.radiche.com/retail-blog/the-lasting-inventor-spe…

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web search NEUTRAL — Silicon Valley visionary Peter Thiel has backed many of today's hottest tech companies and now he's searching for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TeVUzk_IL8

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web search NEUTRAL — The Thiel Fellowship gives $250,000 to young people who want to build new things instead of sitting in a classroom.
https://thielfellowship.org/

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Claim 4: “which was co-led by Gideon Strategic Partners and Nimble Partners with participation from Align Ventures”

DISPUTED

Web results show a Series A round led by Align Ventures, but do not mention Gideon Strategic Partners or Nimble Partners leading a Series B for Radar. One result shows Nimble Partners leading a round for 'Reliable Robotics', not Radar.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Last Resort is an American military drama television series that aired on ABC from September 27, 2012, to January 24, 2013. The series was created by Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek, and produced by Sony…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Resort_(TV_series)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peter Andreas Thiel ( ; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative political activist. A co-founder of PayPal (1998), Palantir Technologies (2003), a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on superhero films and other series starring various titular superheroes independently produced by Marve…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teams_and_organizations_of_the…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “The company also counts Schottenstein among its investors.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results for 'Jay' returned information about birds (jays) and did not provide any information regarding Jay Schottenstein's investment in Radar.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities; they are small to medium-sized, usually have brightly coloured feathers and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay

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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 24, 2025 · Jays are members of the corvid family, which includes some of the most intelligent birds on the planet. They exhibit problem-solving abilities, tool use, and even mimicry. Like crows, t…
https://birdserenity.com/types-of-jays/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jay, any of about 35 to 40 bird species belonging to the family Corvidae (order Passeriformes) that inhabit woodlands and are known for their bold, raucous manner.
https://www.britannica.com/animal/jay

info

Claim 6: “Using hardware mounted to the ceilings of brick-and-mortar stores, Radar's technology can read any radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag with 99% accuracy, the company said.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One source confirms Radar's RFID platform is an alternative to handheld readers (implying a different mounting/system), but the specific 'ceiling-mounted' detail and '99% accuracy' claim are not corroborated by a second independent source in the provided evidence.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chipless RFID tags are RFID tags that do not require a microchip in the transponder. RFIDs offer longer range and ability to be automated, unlike barcodes that require a human operator for interrogati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipless_RFID

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The history of radar (where radar stands for radio detection and ranging) started with experiments by Heinrich Hertz in the late 19th century that showed that radio waves were reflected by metallic ob…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radar

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled array of antennas which creates a beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phased_array

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “some of Radar's retail clients who offer a buy online and pick up in store option have seen order cancellation rates go from 25% to 3%”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding BOPIS order cancellation rates.

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Claim 8: “Radar, a startup backed by American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein... reached unicorn status with its latest funding round”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results discuss automotive radar startups and unrelated unicorn lists, but do not mention Radar (the retail tech company) reaching unicorn status or its valuation.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Newly established radar startups worldwide have raised nearly US$1.2 billion over the past 12 years; approximately US$980 million of which is predominantly directed toward the automotive sector.
https://www.advancedbatteriesresearch.com/articles/32736/nea…

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web search NEUTRAL — Valuation: $1.17 billion. Select investors: Meritech Capital, Lead Edge Capital, Benchmark. Duo is a cloud service that logs people into services (otherwise known as two-factor authentication) and mak…
https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-became-unicorns-201…

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web search NEUTRAL — How many million are in one billion? The meaning of a billion is one thousand million (1,000,000,000).To reach $1 billion would require you to save every penny you earn for 10,000 years.
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/millio…

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Claim 9: “He said American Eagle was the first retailer to implement Radar's technology across its stores.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results only provide general information about American Eagle's retail stores and commercials; there is no mention of their implementation of Radar's technology.

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web search NEUTRAL — Discover our collection of clothing, jeans, and shoes for women's & men's with American Eagle. Shop the latest trends online with ease and high quality.
https://www.americaneagle.ae/

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web search NEUTRAL — Brand: American EagleYear: 2025Director: unknownDescription: Sydney Sweeney shows off her body in denim while giving an elementary biology lesson that some ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzVYyDehMUY

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web search NEUTRAL — Shop American Eagle men's and women's jeans, tops, bottoms, activewear, loungewear and more. Find hoodies, t-shirts, jeans, shorts, and more in additional sizes and styles at AE.com.
https://www.ae.com/intl/en

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Claim 10: “Radar also works with Gap's Old Navy and other major retailers, covering more than 1,400 stores.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result explicitly mentions 'Old Navy Adopts Innovative RFID Platform' using Radar's technology. However, there is no corroborating evidence for the specific count of 1,400 stores or other major retailers in the provided results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier is a class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy to replace portions of the aging Nimitz-class carrier fleet. Named after form…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_R._Ford-class_aircraft_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Saab (formerly Ericsson Microwave Systems AB) Giraffe Radar is a family of land and naval two- or three-dimensional G/H-band (4 to 8 GHz) passive electronically scanned array radar-based surveilla…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe_radar

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.