Dynamo Dispatch (03/07/23)
Issue 242 | Factored Quality, Faraday Future, Cart.com
Dynamo Dispatch. A 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 💭
💥Congrats to the Factored Quality team on their recent $1.5M raise! Read more in our Fundraises and M&A below.
⏸️To all readers in the USA, enjoy a festive and safe 4th of July holiday weekend. We are pausing the Dispatch for a summer break and will be back at the end of July with some exciting updates. Similarly, the Future of Supply Chain podcast will also be on pause as we make some exciting improvements to it.
📣Hub + Spoke applications are open. Over the course of three days from Monday afternoon October 16th to Wednesday afternoon October 18th, in Chattanooga, TN, founders can make meaningful relationships and develop a deeper understanding of the supply chain to accelerate their business. Competitive companies should have a strong team, a product/service built, and early traction with customers/users. Companies that are looking to raise a seed or Series A round would benefit from the programming.
Applications are due August 20th at 11:59 PM PT. More information and the link to the application are available here.
🥰Love reading the Dispatch? Make sure you forward it to anyone looking to stay up to date with all things supply chain and mobility.
We Are Dynamo,
Santosh, Jon, and the rest of the Dynamo team (thanks to Anneli for the editorial support this week)
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Supply Chain 📦
⭐Frontline Workers Are Bargaining For Pandemic ‘Hero’ Pay. The recent contract deal West Coast dockworkers struck will come with an added $72M in “hero bonuses” for workers who kept cargo moving during COVID. This serves as the first opportunity for this new hazard pay to be added to labor contracts, along with the 32% annual wage increase. In other labor news, West Coast Port Workers In Canada To Strike Starting July 1 In Blow To Recovering Supply Chain and New Senate Legislation Seeks To Revise National Labor Law, Targeting Port Union Workers.
What It Will Take To Electrify The Biggest Rigs On The Road. Factors such as increased use of heavier eTrucks in regional distribution applications, and truck driving shorter routes already undercutting the economics of diesel rigs by 2025, can help eTrucks reach up to 18% of global heavy-duty commercial vehicle sales as soon as 2030. eTruck technology in general has improved as well: battery and motor development, eAxles to reduce weight and efficiency, and driving down the economics of charging stations. Also, Volvo’s Heavy-Duty Electric Truck Runs 12 Hours A Day With One Charge Break, Can Haul 74 Tons.
Amazon Wants To Turn Small Shops Into Delivery Partners. Reportedly, Amazon will be targeting small-mid-sized cities first such as Columbia, MO and Fayetteville, AR, while expanding its Amazon Hub Delivery program to Seattle, LA, and Boston. These retail partner stores will now receive and deliver an average of 150-350 packages per week. For other Amazon-related news, read ShipBob Taps Former Amazon Exec, Takes eComm Services to Stores and How Amazon Is Taming Its Customers’ Returns Addiction.
Packages From China Are Surging Into The US. Some Say $800 Duty-Free Limit Was A Mistake. The 2016 bump to $800, which contributed to China’s 60% of imports in that category, is now facing backlash from The Select Committee (a new House committee) which claims Chinese companies may be using this threshold to circumvent US law to prevent the sale of goods made with forced labor. The sheer amount of cargo shipped has made it impossible to “reasonably scrutinize” the goods under the $800 threshold and presents competitiveness concerns with more high-quality Chinese manufacturers. Elsewhere in China, Can China Export Its Way Out of Its Economic Slump? and China's Shein files For US IPO-Sources.
UPS Hacked – Attackers Using Smishing Technique To Harvest Customer Data. The hackers used Smishing, a phishing attack sent via SMS, to use a package-lookup tool used by UPS to potentially leak sensitive tracking details of any package. The data breach included unauthorized access to names, shipment addresses, phone numbers, order numbers, etc. between 2022-02-01 and 2023-04-24. Elsewhere at UPS, Teamsters Demand UPS’s ‘Final Offer’ In Contract Talks.
US Nearshoring Wave Grows As Mexico Exports Jump Close to Record. With over $6.4B in investment from the US in Mexico, the LatAm giant’s exports rose 5.8% y/y to $53B. This is directly correlated to the US’ 31% jump in the automotive industry with Mexio’s manufactured goods, which makes up 89% of its 2023 exports. In related news, consider reading Xeneta Air Freight Update Suggests More Near Term Cargo Weakness.
Mobility 🚗
⭐Did We Catch Apple Testing Its Autonomous-Vehicle Tech At Chrysler's Old Proving Ground? A groundbreaking report by Greg Fink and the team from Car and Driver claims Apple tested a car on Route 14’s AZ proving ground. This could be related to Apple’s “Project Titan”, as a sensor-stack mounted to the car’s roof was spotted. For other news related to Apple’s involvement in the autonomous industry, read Apple Car Will Reinvent The Seatbelt - Here's How.
Lucid Will Supply Aston Martin With Leading-Edge Electric Powertrains. US EV startup, Lucid has now entered a partnership with Aston Martin to create a “single bespoke BEV platform” for all future Aston Martin products in a deal worth over $232M. The British manufacturer will also purchase at least $225M in powertrain components as part of its $2.5B sustainability strategy to introduce electrification to its entire fleet of vehicles- providing access to Lucid’s twin-motor drive unit. Aston Martin continues to double down in its electrification talks with Legacy Automakers Suffer Another Blow As Aston Martin Spurns Mercedes-AMG’s Electrified Tech.
Lordstown CEO Was Ghosted By Foxconn Unit A Year Before Collapse. Executive Ed Hightower supposedly flew to Taiwan last year to speak to leaders at Foxtron, an affiliate of Foxconn, in hopes of developing a new EV. But he encountered resistance from the executive team and has since gone bankrupt, while Foxconn claims Lordstown continuously misled the public. Also, World’s Largest iPhone Factory In Zhengzhou Ramps Up Hiring As Foxconn Chairman Reassures On China Supply Chain and iPhone Maker Foxconn To Switch To Cars As US-China Ties Sour.
Electrify America Is The Next Big Charging Network To Adopt Tesla’s ‘Standard’ EV Plug. Electrify America has joined Tesla’s EV supercharging network and will add support for Tesla’s North American Charging Standard to existing and future charging stations by 2025. The company will still use the standard CCS (combined charging system) alongside the NACS connector, which is used by Ford, GM, Honda, etc. That wasn't Tesla's only win this week as Polestar Is The Latest EV Maker To Announce A Move To Tesla’s North American Charging Standard.
Stellantis, Archer Move Partnership From ‘Concept Phase’ To ‘Execution Phase’. The construction of the world’s first high-volume eVTOL aircraft is well underway in Stellantis’ Georgia manufacturing facility, as the company increases its strategic holdings in Archer Aviation. Through a series of purchases of Archer stock in the open market, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares hopes to ensure Stellantis can “meet our goal of bringing scalable manufacturing of Archer’s aircraft online in mid-2024”. For other eVTOL news, consider checking out Joby Aviation Receives Permit To Fly First eVTOL Built On Production Line and Stellantis Execs Sold Millions In Stock In Recent Months; Automaker Cites Tax Obligations.
World's First 'Flying Car' Gets Special Airworthiness Certification From FAA. Alef Aeronautic's 100% electric flying car has now received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration, the first time a vehicle of this manner has been given such permissions. The car has a flying range of 110 miles, and 200 on the road, and maintains a stationary passenger compartment while the body spins around to form the biplane configuration. In related news, Suzuki Signs Agreement With Skydrive For The Manufacturing Of Flying Cars.
Fundraises and M&A 💸
💥Factored Quality Raises $1.5M In New Funding. Factored Quality helps brands ensure they are producing the highest quality goods for their customers through software that provides a first-hand view of the factory floor from anywhere. The new capital will be used to continue expanding services. The new funding was provided by Vinyl Capital and PVPP.
iMotorbike Raises $2.6M In Series A funding. iMotorbike is a Kuala Lumpur-based eCommerce platform for buying and selling pre-owned motorcycles. iMotorbike said in a statement the funds raised will be used to strengthen their operations in Malaysia and Vietnam, including opening more inspection centers in both countries. Gobi Partners and Ondine Capital led the round and were joined by Penjana Kapital, The Hive Southeast Asia, 500 Global, and others.
Baskit Raises $3.3M In Seed Funding. Launched in 2022, Baskit is a B2B eCommerce startup that wants to tackle these challenges, starting in Indonesia. While the company currently operates largely in the West Java region, it plans to use the new funding expand into Greater Jakarta. The new capital was provided Betatron, Forge, 1982, Investible, DS/X, Orvel and Michael Sampoerna
Vok Bikes Raises €3.8M In Seed Funding. Vok Bikes an Estonian maker of eBikes for last mile deliveries. They will use the new capital to enhance existing operations. The funding was provided by SmartCap, Metaplane, and Sunly.
Bluedot Raises $5M In Series In New Funding. Bluedot is a San Francisco-based EV charging payments platform. With the recent investments, Bluedot plans to incorporate advanced features such as route optimization and home charging reimbursement into their mobile application and dashboard. Investors include Y Combinator, Leap Forward, Operator Stack, LACI Impact Fund, Caffeinated Capital, Ford Driventure, ScaleX, and other angels.
Colonia Technologies Raises €6 In Seed Funding. Colonia Technologies is a Berlin- and Cologne-based sharing platform for commercial vehicles. They will use the new money to help expand existing operations. The funding was led by Octopus Ventures with participation by Plug and Play, vent.io, MobilityFund, and Hoyer, as well as numerous angel investors, including the founders of Flixbus, Grover, and Seven Senders.
Realtime Robotics Raises $9.5M In New Funding. Realtime Robotics is a Boston-based company that creates software for collision-free autonomous motion planning for industrial robots. They will use this additional investment to drive further product enhancements, incorporate feedback from customers and partners, and scale to support additional go-to-market efforts. The new funds are from Shinhan GIB and Kyobo Life Insurance.
Service4Charger Raises $10M Series A Funding. Service4Charger is a Berlin-based EV charging infrastructure startup offering intelligent, scalable eMobility solutions and full-service implementation. The money will be used to expand into new international markets. BP Ventures led the round, and was joined by Smart Energy Innovationsfonds.
Dexory Raises $19M In Series A Funding. Dexory is a London-based provider of warehouse inventory management data. They plan to use the new funding to scale into the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands. Atomico led and was joined by Lakestar, Maersk, Kindred Capital, and Capnamic
B Garage Raises $20M In Series A Funding. B Garage is a San Jose, CA.-based developer of autonomous warehouse drones along with software to track warehouse inventory. They plan to use the new funding to continue enhancing their software solutions with the goal of integrating with its hardware to apply its technology to industries beyond logistics, such as defense and security. LB Investment led and was joined by Ignite Innovation Fund, Krossroad Partners, and SoftBank Ventures Asia.
Parabola Raises $24M In Series B Funding. Parabola ia a collaborative data tool enabling non-technical teams to automate solutions for manual spreadsheet-based processes. This funding will allow Parabola to double down on serving its ecommerce, retail, CPG, freight and logistics customers while expanding to new verticals. The round was led by OpenView, with participation from existing investors Matrix and Thrive Capital and new investors Flexport, Webflow, and the founders of Harry's, Warby Parker, and Allbirds.
Nuvocargo Raises $36.5M In Series B Funding. Nuvocargo is a New York-based provider of US and Mexico cross-border freight services. The new funds will allow Nuvocargo to better address its enterprise-level demands. QED Investors led and was joined by Tresalia Capital, Amador Holdings, and NFX, Tiger Global, and ALLVP.
NoTraffic Raises $50M In Series B Funding. NoTraffic is an Israel-based autonomous traffic management platform. They hope to use the new funds to expand into additional markets, including Japan, Italy, Germany and the U.K., with an eye toward doubling its geographic footprint in 2023. M&G Investments led and was joined by VNV Global, UMC Capital, Grove Ventures, Vektor Partners, Next Gear Ventures, North First Ventures, Meitav Investment House, Alchimia Investments, and TMG.
Cart.com Raises $60M In Series C Funding. Cart.com in an Austin-based company providing end-to-end eCommerce services. The new investment will go into meeting customer demand, international expansion and product development. Participating in the round were B. Riley Venture Capital, Kingfisher Investment Advisors, Snowflake Ventures, Prosperity7 Ventures, Legacy Knight and a group of other investors.
Faraday Future Raises $90M In New Funding. Faraday Future is the maker of the long-awated FF 91 luxury electric SUV. Faraday’s funding comes as peer EV SPAC Lordstown Motors files for bankruptcy protection and sues its investor and manufacturing partner Foxconn for failing to make good on its investment commitments. The latest funds will be led by private equity firm ATW Partners with participation from Senyun International.
Who's Hiring? 👩💻
Be sure to check out the Dynamo website for more job opportunities at our portfolio companies!
General Manager (Fulfillment) at Stord in North Haven, CT.
Director of Sales at Token Transit in San Francisco, CA (remote).
Executive Assistant at Amitruck in Nairobi, Kenya.