PEAK ASSET: MORNING WRAP 20 February: ASX 200 futures are pointing down 44 points or 0.5 per cent to 9003 | Bitcoin trapped in fragile trading range | RocketBoots bets on real-world returns |

RocketBoots bets on real-world returns

• RocketBoots is trading at ~6x ARR in a hyped AI sector
• Global rollout underway after competitive trials
• Further contract wins will test the growth story

Running big retailers and bank branches might look fairly simple from the outside. Open the doors, put people on the floor, serve customers and keep costs in check.

In reality, it’s become much harder to get right.

Customer traffic no longer follows neat patterns. Some hours are dead quiet, then queues suddenly blow out. People expect fast service in-store and instant replies online.

Self-checkout was meant to cut labour costs, but often requires staff hovering nearby to fix frozen screens, scanning errors or locked machines.

Theft hasn’t disappeared, either. It has just changed shape and become harder to detect.

Most rostering is still built on historical averages and instinct.

The result is familiar: long waits at one counter while others sit empty, or a bank branch that feels overstaffed and underperforming at the same time.

When AI meets the real world

Enterprise analytics software company RocketBoots (ASX:ROC) uses AI to measure what’s actually happening on the floor – tracking foot traffic, queues and staff deployment in real time.

That data is used to adjust rostering, reduce friction at self-checkout and tighten loss prevention.

CEO Joel Rappolt breaks it down:

“So right now, there’s a lot of hype about AI. But what actually matters is what it can deliver in the real world.”

For large retailers and banks, the conversation quickly turns practical.

“If I’m responsible for running a retail banking branch network, the question I’m asking is how AI can actually help me run it better,” he said.

That means measurable outcomes – lower costs, shorter queues and better staff utilisation, not just dashboards.

From building apps to running the floor

RocketBoots began in 2004 as a consultancy, founded by CTO Robin Hilliard.

Rappolt joined in 2007 after an unusual start to his career.

“So prior to Rothbury, I was a Japanese translator for 15 years,” he said.

In the iPhone era, RocketBoots rode the first wave of mobile transformation, building custom software for banks, telcos, stadiums and airports.

But as offshore development compressed margins, the company pivoted.

“We started, sort of doing hypothesis testing of how can big data be used for innovation,” he said.

“And we started focusing in on machine learning, neural networks, simulation.”

That evolution led to Beehive – RocketBoots’ core platform.

Instead of building apps, the company began building infrastructure: technology that turns physical activity on the shop floor into operational intelligence.

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Source: Stockhead