Joel Bar-El grew up in Tel Aviv, the son of a lifeguard. At Tel Aviv University he started in physics, found it too hard after the first year, and changed course. He imported toys from Czechoslovakia to sell to local shops and graduated in 1996.
He founded Trax in 2010 with Dror Feldheim. The company is based in Singapore with its research and development in Tel Aviv. Its first money, about $7.5 million around 2012, came from family offices and wealthy individuals.
Choosing a big multinational as the first client slowed early growth, and the first recurring client arrived only in mid-2013. Procter & Gamble backed the concept, then Coca-Cola and Unilever followed. Warburg Pincus invested $64 million in 2017, and Boyu Capital and GIC joined in 2019.
In 2021 Trax raised a $640 million Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $2 billion to $3 billion. In May 2024 the founders stepped back from daily operations.