 At $11.3B over 12 months, supply chain management funding in 2021 easily broke all previous records. The new sum is just shy of doubling the figure from 2020, despite only adding 46 more deals. More: - With 450, the deal count in 2021 was still lower than the record of 473 set in 2019.
- Thanks to several massive deals, investors have pumped nearly $1.9B into the space so far in 2022, putting the sector on track to set a new record in the coming year.
- Driven by the pandemic, supply chain visibility became a top priority for managers in the past two years after scarcely being an afterthought for decades.
- Teddie Wardi, managing director at Insight Partners, noted that only construction accounts for a larger part of global spending.
- His firm has placed bets on top supply chain companies such as Chicago-based Project44, Florida-based PayCargo, and Seattle-based Logixboard.
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Swiss supply chain automation startup Scandit raised $150M in a Series D funding led by Warburg Pincus. The Zürich-based company joined the unicorn herd with the funding round, which saw participation from Atomico, Forestay Capital, G2VP, GV, Kreos, NGP Capital, Schneider Electric, Sony Innovation Fund, and Swisscom Ventures. More: - The capital brought Scandit’s total raised to $300M.
- Scandit provides a platform that captures data from barcodes, text, objects, and IDs in order to reduce inventory mistakes.
- According to a 2018 survey, inventory slip-ups account for an estimated 53% of unplanned markdown costs for retailers.
- Despite this, almost 70% of retailers with over $500M in annual revenue said that automating the monitoring of in-store shelves wasn’t worth the investment, even though 75% of them admitted that implementing such structures would improve inventory accuracy.
- Scandit’s 450 employees have managed to convince 1,700 companies and several top brands — including FedEx, Levi’s Strauss & Co., and Sephora — that the company’s platform is worth it.
- Its scanning software can extract essential information and is also offered in AR glasses for easier use. Its annual recurring revenue has more than doubled since May 2020.
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 A message from SEEDINVEST Fuel your company’s growth engine with SeedInvest Whether your startup is in SaaS, consumer goods, e-commerce, or just about any other sector you could name, equity crowdfunding can help take your business to the next level. More than 250 companies have been funded through SeedInvest, and yours can too. Here’s what you need to know: - Equity crowdfunding and VC are not mutually exclusive
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France has announced plans to support 10 to 20 late-stage venture funds with €1B+ ($1.14B+) in funding each. The plan is part of an initiative to boost the attractivity of Europe’s startup landscape for top global talent. In order to improve the continent’s technological competitiveness, the country will also support investment in deeptech companies. More: - Currently, there are two funds with more than €1B in Europe compared to 40 in the U.S.
- The funds will be organized by governments but supported by private investing outfits.
- Both France and Germany have pledged €1B toward the funds, while the European Investment Bank will allocate €500M, which was matched by French and Danish investment banks.
- France introduced the proposal in its capacity as the acting president of the Council of the European Union.
- Several EU Member States said they will contribute to the European Investment Fund to create a new fund of funds for startup investing.
- The news comes after Portugal, while presiding over the Council, announced that it created the European Startup Nations Alliance.
- At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron launched a program that saw investors and companies pledge to pursue the goal of creating 10 tech companies worth €100B+ by 2030.
- In order to draw more workers, unified rules for tech workers will be introduced, supplementing the regulations of individual European countries.
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 Xpressbees, a Pune, India-based logistics firm, raised $300M at a $1.2B valuation. The company caters to e-commerce companies and has now raised $575.8M to date. Of the funds, $200M was a secondary raise that gave previous investor Alibaba a partial exit, as well as a full exit for an unspecified Chinese investor. More: - Also participating in Series F funding were Blackstone, TPG, and ChrysCapital.
- Xpressbees Claims over 1,000 customers, including Paytm and other top-tier startups.
- The company handles up to 30% of all shipments for e-commerce orders, which has resulted in expectations of 70% growth in the current financial year.
- It plans to deploy the fresh funds to become a full-service logistics firm as it expands into more semi-urban markets beyond major centers.
- Rural and semi-urban consumers are a fast-growing segment of the Indian e-commerce market.
- One of Xpressbees' top competitors is Delhivery, which filed for a $1B IPO in November. It sports FedEx, SoftBank, and Tiger Global among its investors.
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 Today’s Funding 💸 Adtech/Martech - Airmeet (Lewes, Del.), event-led engagement platform: $35M B from Prosus Ventures, Sistema Asia Fund, RingCentral Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, DG Daiwa Ventures, et al.
Agtech Biotech/Health - Ventus Therapeutics (Waltham, Mass.), small molecule therapeutics for a broad range of disease indications:...
Want to read about all of today’s funding in one place? The funding roundup is only available to free users on Mondays and Fridays. Upgrade to Inside VC Premium for either $10/month, or $100 billed annually, to receive the full list in every issue! For a limited time, we are offering a 14-day free trial. Click here to sign up! | | | |
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- Vancouver-based quantum computing company D-Wave will debut on the NYSE with a SPAC merger and raise $340M at a $1.2B valuation.
- GoTo Global, an Israel-based micromobility provider operator in several European countries, will go public via SPAC merger in Tel Aviv. The deal will provide the company with $12M in fresh funds.
- Masayoshi Son announced plans to organize an IPO for Arm after the sale to Nvidia fell through.
- Roelof Botha pushed Sequoia to hold shares beyond the standard 10-year VC cycle. Protocol took a look at what sets him apart from other investors.
- Microsoft is in talks to acquire cybersecurity research and incident response company Mandiant. Mandiant’s share price gives it a market value of $4.3B.
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 |  | Inside VC's writer/curator Stephen currently lives in Berlin and is pursuing a Master's degree in philosophy. He otherwise spends his time trying his hand at recipes from India and Southeast Asia, escaping it all at the kickboxing gym, and offending aural sensibilities with his band. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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