Dynamo Dispatch (01/31/2022)

Issue 180 | Verusen, Passport, Cazoo

Dynamo Dispatch. Weekly update from Dynamo Ventures covering the latest and greatest in supply chain, mobility, and building venture-scale businesses.

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Weekly Commentary 💭

Is it just us or did January fly by? Maybe it’s because there was a lot happening here at HQ. ICYMI: We welcomed three Venture Fellows to the Dynamo team (shoutout to Charles, Leo & Warren). We also added our first Associate to the ranks! Check out our podcast, The Future of Supply Chain, for the interview between Santosh and Clay to get the inside scoop of the focus areas that he’ll be honing in on.

Got a startup in the supply chain space that we should check out? We’re always open to referrals - shoot us an email at hello@dynamo.vc.

We Are Dynamo,

Clay, Santosh, Jon, and the rest of the Dynamo team

Note: please add “dynamo@substack.com” to your email client, so you don’t miss future issues due to aggressive spam filters.

Supply Chain 📦

🌟Truckload Carriers See No Break In Freight Demand. Major trucking companies say strong consumer demand and rising operating costs are pushing rates higher. The company expects a strong spot market in the first half of 2022, as well as double-digit increases in contract rates and brokerage businesses in Q1 of 2022. Additionally, more opportunities are emerging in shorter haul lanes, as shippers accelerate a shift toward regional distribution to replenish inventories and get goods to customers faster. In other trucking news, Saia’s 7.5% GRI Latest In String Of 2022 LTL Rate Hikes and Carriers Remain In The Driver’s Seat When Naming Rates. 

China And Vietnam Urge Workers To Hunker Down Over Lunar New Year. Fears that 1.2B expected trips during the holiday would spark COVID outbreaks and shutter factories in two of the world's key manufacturing powerhouses led both countries to urge millions of workers to forgo their plans. Local governments will require 14-day quarantines, seven days of self-isolation, and multiple PCR tests, making these the strictest COVID-related measures globally. Manufacturers serving everyone from Apple to Samsung are on high alert to avoid an outbreak that could wreak more havoc on global supply chains. For a change of pace, watch Flexport CEO Discusses US Port Congestion And Whether There's Been Progress On Relieving It or read Network Changes Boost Asia Capacity To East, Gulf Coasts.  

FedEx And Microsoft Announce New Cross-Platform Logistics Solution For eCommerce. Pre-pandemic, FedEx projected that the US domestic package market would hit 100M packages per day by 2026. The market is now expected to hit this mark four years sooner, growing to 110M packages a day in 2022 — with 86% of that growth fueled by e-commerce. The joint “logistics as a service” solution from both company’s multiyear collaboration aims to increase e-commerce merchant competitiveness by improving customer engagement and providing enhanced shipping options. Plans include a unique data integration coupling data insights from FedEx with AI and Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management. From transportation to warehouses, better shipping rates, economic optimization, and technologies such as the ones used to ​​Create Future-Focused Warehouses, this is Why The Technology-Advanced Supply Chain Matters Now More Than Ever. 

Inside Gopuff’s Ambitious And Costly Bid To Dominate European Instant Delivery. Gopuff is on pace to generate $100M in annual revenue in Europe and is growing three times faster than it had projected. However, average order volumes remain well below its break-even point in London, one of its earliest overseas cities. Additionally, the region’s high labor costs also posed challenges as Gopuff received backlash from proposing to pay delivery workers based on trips when they are actively delivering goods—as it does in the US—instead of regular shifts. For more on delivery, Milk Delivery Companies Shut In North Dakota; Hours-Of-Service Waiver Ensues and NYC Grants Sweeping New Rights To Food Delivery Workers.  

Einride And GE Appliances (GEA) Deploy Autonomous And Electric Trucks In The US. Both companies partnered to make history as they implement electric and autonomous trucks at scale on US soil. The partnership represents Einride’s first installation with its renowned Pods in the US, which will operate on GEA’s 750-acre campus in Louisville, KY. As a result, GEA is expected to save 970 tons of CO2 emissions within the first year, playing a key role in its global commitment. That said, not everyone’s dreams have come true as Tesla Is Still 'Hopeful' For 2023 Semi Debut, while others prefer to play it safe: TMC Eyes Automated Driving Systems With New Recommended Practices.

Top Haulers Give Mixed Response To Claims Driver Shortage Crisis Is Easing. Logistics companies in the UK are reporting signs that the HGV driver shortage crisis may have turned a corner this month. However, some cautioned that, unless wage rises are maintained and facilities improved, the easing of the crisis could be short-lived. Reports of a rise in the availability of drivers follow moves by the industry to attract new drivers with wage hikes, bonuses, and more flexible shift patterns, alongside government schemes such as the recent Skills Bootcamps and the fast-tracking of HGV driving tests. Despite driver shortages potentially coming to an end in the UK, The US Still Needs More Than 80K Truck Drivers.

US Food Supply Is Under Pressure, From Plants To Store Shelves. Supermarket operators and food makers say that overall supplies are ample, despite the continuing labor shortages and difficulties transporting goods. However, in-stock levels of food products at US retailers hit 86% for the second week in January, a 90% decrease from last summer and pre-pandemic levels. Sports drinks, frozen cookies, and refrigerated dough are especially low, with in-stock levels in the 60% to 70% range. Moreover, beef production and chicken processing were down about 5% and 4% y/y, respectively, according to the USDA. Separately, the food industry is not the only one facing supply pressures as Growing Demand For Domestic Containers Leaves Shortage Of 53-Foot Chassis.

Mobility 🚗

New Report Claims 5G Will Fundamentally Transform Urban Transportation. The Connected Consumer 2030 report explores how enhanced connectivity could impact our lives. McKinsey predicts that cities that deploy smart mobility applications could cut commuting times by around 20% on average by 2025. The key factor for the success of the implementation of smart mobility is how the different stakeholders will collaborate towards common goals. For more on urban transportation this week, check out What Did COP26 Really Mean For Public Transport? and 1.7M Traffic Management Contract For Iteris In San Bernardino County, California. 

🌟US House Panel To Hold Hearing on AVs. The House Infrastructure Subcommittee on highways and transit said it would hold a hearing on AVs. Representatives from the Transport Workers Union of America as well as the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association are expected to testify. The debate of regulation versus investment could have massive ramifications for the speed at which AVs can enter the market. For other news in mobility check out The Self-Driving Car Industry is Abandoning the Term ‘Self-Driving’ and Leaving it to Tesla and Why Micromobility is Here to Stay.

Willer And Kddi Announce Partnership For Unlimited Ride On-Demand Mobility Service.  Japanese companies Willer and KDDI embark on a joint mobility service called mobi. The main differentiator of this new venture is its flat rates and unlimited rides. These features might allow it to become a substitute for vehicle ownership for everyday commuters. The service is planned to start operations in April 2022 and offers unlimited rides within a 2km radius from the customer’s home. In similar news, The Transportation Companies that Defined 2021 and Belgium Monitors Mobility Cost in a Public Dashboard.

Boom Will Build a Supersonic Jet Factory in North Carolina.  Boom has announced its plans to build its 400K ft² manufacturing facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in NC. United Airlines previously announced it would purchase Boom’s Overture jets which could the time it takes to fly from San Francisco to Tokyo to just six hours. Boom claims the jets will be net-zero carbon, as they fly 100% on sustainable aviation fuels. For more information on the latest in aviation tech, check out DOD Experimenting with 5G Tech to Avoid Interference with Aviation Equipment and The Colorado Startup Dreaming Up a Return to Supersonic Flight.

Waymo Sues State DMV To Keep Robotaxi Safety Details Secret. Autonomous taxi developer Waymo is suing the California Department of Motor Vehicles to be allowed to not have to disclose certain safety information. Waymo wants to keep information on its driverless car emergencies and mishaps a secret in order to maintain a competitive advantage. This is yet another avenue of contention between traditional vehicle regulation and the next generation of AV tech. For more on taxi tech, check out AerinX and Orca are Working Together on the High-Tech Maintenance of Air Taxis and Flying Taxis are Lining Up for Certification.

World’s Fastest EV Charging Technology Announced. Voltempo has launched HyperCharging, which it states can deliver 1,000kW of power (almost 3x that of competition). The company claims this technology could be able to charge the next generation EVs in as little as 6 minutes, potentially expediting EV adoption. The installation of the technology will start in 2022 in Tyseley Energy Park located in Birmingham. For the latest on EVs look at Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance Confirms Plans to Build 35 New EVs by 2030 and Coventry to Become First All-Electric Bus City With New Zero-Emission Buses.

VW And Bosch To Collaborate On Automated Driving Software. The two companies announced a partnership that would develop AV software to put in VW vehicles. The software will enable Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous features that should take over driving in various environments. The software could potentially be used in other non-VW vehicles if things go to plan. Level 2 autonomous features are expected to be in VW vehicles by 2023. In other news, Ford Starts Production of its New All-Electric E-Transit Cargo Van 

Fundraises and M&A 💸

💥 Verusen Raises $25M Led By Scale Venture Partners. Verusen is a platform that utilizes AI to help companies in multiple industries manage their supply chains. Additional investors include Glasswing Ventures, Flyover Capital, Zetta Venture Partners, Forte Ventures, BMW i Ventures, and Kubera VC. The funds will be used to scale its platform and increase market share.

Anyplace Raises $5.3M Led By GA Technologies. Anyplace helps its customers find flexible-term furnished housing in major cities around the world. They currently have offerings across over 60 countries in more than 450 cities. The funds will enable Anyplace to expand to more cities and improve its functionality. 

Baly Raises $10.5M Led By Rocket Internet. Baly is an on-demand ride hailing service based in Iraq. This latest funding round breaks the record for most ever money raised for a tech startup in Iraq. The funds will enable Baly to become a “super-app” by expanding its features to include food and grocery delivery.

Inteluck Raises $15M Led By Creo Capital. Inteluck connects logistics services providers, such as full truckload transportation, freight forwarding, and warehouse management platforms to businesses. They currently have 5K supplier partners and serve more than 250 companies in the eComm space. The funds will be used to grow its platform.

Supermove Raises $18M Led By a16z. Supermove empowers moving businesses to truly go paperless. They have partnered with more than a hundred moving, storage, and logistics companies, servicing more than $150M worth of moves and 100K customers. The funds will be used to expand product offerings and grow their team.

Inventa Raises $20M Co-led By a16z and Monashees. Inventa is a B2B marketplace that connects brands and independent retailers in Brazil. Additional investors include Founders Fund, Greenoaks, Greylock, Tiger Global, Pear VC, Alter Global and angel investors Hans Tung and Carlos Gracia from Kavak. The funds will enable Inventa to further invest in its technology team and build its sales and marketing team.

Parsyl Raises $25M Led By HSCM Ventures. Parsyl is a fully integrated, data-powered insurer for essential supply chains. Additional investors include Lineage Logistics and Flexport Ventures. The funds will be used to expand its insurance and risk management platform.

Addionics Raises $27M Co-led By Deep Insight and Catalyst Fund. Addionics provides improved rechargeable batteries by redesigning their architecture. The company’s core intellectual property is its patented and scalable electrode fabrication process that significantly lowers manufacturing costs. The funds will be used to scale up the development of its next-generation batteries with Smart 3D Electrodes.

Logixboard Raises $32M Led By Insight Partners. Logixboard is a white-labeled shipment visibility software that helps logistics service providers increase sales and retain customers. Additional investors include Redpoint Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Social Leverage and Founders’ Co-op. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and improve customer experience.

Shopkirana Raises $38M Co-led By ​​Info Edge, Oman India, Sixth Sense Ventures. Shopkirana empowers retailers to be competitive by providing technology, operational expertise and scaling advantage. It currently works with 50K Shopkirana stores in eight cities across four states in India. The funds will enable the startup to scale nationwide.

Passport Raises $39M Led By TCV. Passport is an international shipping carrier built for cross-border eCommerce. Additional investors include Flexport, FJ Labs, Pure Imagination, M13, Resolute, River Park Ventures, and angel investors Nik Sharma of Sharma Brands and Jeremy Cai of Italic. The funds will be used to further develop their technology and expand their physical logistic capabilities.

Starship Technologies Raises €50M Led By EU’s Investment Arm. Starship builds autonomous delivery robots that travel on the sidewalk. Starship currently offers its services in parts of the EU, UK and the US in cities, university campuses and industrial campuses. The funds will be used for research and the development of thousands more robots.

Cheetah Raises $60M Co-led By Manna Tree and Sator Grove. Cheetah is a tech-enabled platform designed for independent restaurants to order wholesale food and supplies for next-day delivery. Additional investors include Lineage Logistics, Grupo Nutresa, Eclipse Ventures, and Hanaco Growth Ventures. The funds will enable Cheetah to enter new markets.

Vecna Robotics Raises $65M Led By Tiger Global. Vecna Robotics creates autonomous mobile robots for warehouses and factories. Additional investors include Drive Capital, Lineage Logistics, Proficio Capital Partners, and IMPULSE. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and meet new orders.

Sibros Raises $70M Led By Energy Impact Partners. Sibros provides automakers with a single source of truth and insights into all software and data for globally connected fleets. Additional investors include Fontinalis Partners, Google, Iron Pillar, Qualcomm Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Moneta Ventures. The funds will be used to meet global demands and deliver large customer deployments.

May Mobility Raises $83M Led By Mirai Creation Fund II. May Mobility is a self-driving shuttle startup that offers autonomous vehicle services for public transportation. This most recent round of funding brings the total amount raised by the 5-year-old May Mobility to $166M. The funds will be used for technology advancements, expanding its customer base, and enhancing rider experience.

Wandelbots Raises $84M Led By Insight Partners. Wandelbots is a robotic software company that is making industrial robots accessible for everyone. Wandelbots’ no-code approach brings automation to the next level by enabling application experts to become robot experts without the need for coding skills. The funds will be used to open its Robotics Software Platform to automation solution providers and third-party developers to create a compelling developer community.

Ola Electric Raises $200M In New Financing Round. Ola Electric is a mobility platform that manufactures electric vehicles. Investors in this round include Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund and Edelweiss. Ola announced its first electric scooter last year, and is looking to use the funds to expand into more categories, including cars.

Zapp Raises $200M Series B. Zapp is an instant grocery delivery startup based in London. This round is co-led by Lightspeed, 468 Capital, and BroadLight Capital. The funds will enable Zapp to increase its presence in the grocery delivery market and go head-to-head with Getir, GoPuff, Jiffy, Deliveroo and the many others hungry for a share of the market.

Paack Raises $225M Led By SoftBank. Paack is a last-mile delivery solution that combines a customer-centric approach with a planet-first approach. They currently deliver several million orders per month (from 150 international clients), processing 10K parcels per hour, per site. The funds will be used for product development and European expansion.

Moglix Raises $250M Co-led By Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global. Moglix operates a B2B marketplace and procurement platform for industrial goods. With close to 700k+ SKUs on its platform, Moglix claims to be the largest e-commerce platform of industrial goods in India. The funds will be used for accelerating product development, acquiring the right partners, and global expansion.

Wisk Aero Raises $450M Led By Boeing. Wisk Aero is building a self-flying, eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) air taxi that will make it possible for passengers to skip the traffic and get to their destination faster. This investment reinforces the strength of Wisk’s strategic partnership with Boeing and their collaboration on critical technology development. The funds will be used to further advance the development of Wisk’s 6th generation eVTOL aircraft.

Cazoo Acquires brumbrum for $90M. Cazoo is an online used car marketplace designed to transform the way people buy, finance, or rent used cars. The acquisition of brumbrum enables Cazoo to accelerate its plans to fully launch across Italy, the fourth-largest used car market in Europe by both volume and value, by mid-2022. The deal is comprised of a mix of cash and Cazoo shares and is expected to finalize in the coming days.

Wheels Up Acquires Air Partner for $107M. Wheels Up is a membership-based private aviation company that focuses on reducing upfront cost to fly privately. The acquisition of Air Partner extends Wheels Up's international reach by 18 locations across four continents. Wheels Up will acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Air Partner for 125 pence per share, equivalent to an enterprise value of approximately $107M.

Xeneta Acquires CLIVE. Xeneta is an ocean freight rate benchmarking and market intelligence platform. The acquisition of CLIVE will help Xeneta provide the most timely and comprehensive insights into the global ocean and air freight markets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

SPAC Radar 📡

D-Orbit in $1.4B Deal with Breeze Holdings. D-Orbit is a space transportation company, providing solutions for moving, precise deployment and removing satellites. Last year, D-Orbit brought in $3.4M in revenue and it forecasts that number to increase to about $22M in 2022. The deal is expected to add as much as $185M in cash to D-Orbit’s balance sheet.

Company Building 🛠️

Killing a Killer Feature (In Outlook, Again). The most recent installment in Steven Sinofsky’s newsletter about his time managing products at Microsoft. In particular, this is an interesting recap of a last minute product decision that removed a highly sought-after feature in Exchange. These things happen at startup, scaleup, and scaled out businesses and while can feel like a step backwards in the moment, it can often be a step in the right direction for the long term.

Thoughts on Angel Investing. I’ve been approached here-and-there over the last 2-3 months on breaking into angel investing. Perhaps this is a sign of the times but I thought this thread is a great and candid recollection of lessons and strategy. Note - generally angel investing should be reserved for those ok losing the entirety of their investment principal.

The 48 Types of VP Sales. Make Deadly Sure You Hire the Right One. This is a must read from SaaStr. The thing we’ve certainly seen is that different products, markets, and stages require different sales leadership and talent. Jason Lemkin has laid this out artfully.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

Marketing Manager at Zeelo in Boston, MA.

Senior Software Developer at Token Transit in San Francisco, CA (remote ok).

Customer Success Lead at BackboneAI in New York City, NY (remote ok).

💥 Have you seen any interesting startups recently? Introduce us.
❤️ We would love your support. Please forward to friends and share on social media.
🗞️ If you were forwarded this and found it interesting, please sign up.
🎙 Check out Dynamo's podcast series, The Future of Supply Chain.