Dynamo Dispatch (06/03/23)

Issue 228 | Skydio, Fulfill Solutions, Flock

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 💭

📢 Welcome to Monday! We’re kicking off the week excited to announce that we’re hiring two Associates to join the team and help source, select, and steward our investments. We approach this in an apprenticeship format. While the program requires a two-year commitment, exceptional employees will have the opportunity to be promoted.  For those wondering "if this is a fit for me?" - we're more interested in your demonstrated qualities and commitment to want to be a best-in-class pre-seed and seed investor. Apply here, and please share with your network. 

🥰 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 (shout out to Anneli for the editorial muscle)

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

Supply Chain 📦 

🌟 Idle Domestic Containers Being Stacked As Intermodal Volumes Tumble. North American railroads moved just over 627K domestic containers this past month, down 4.2% y/y. From November 2022 to January 2023, 1.92M domestic containers were moved across North America, down 5.4% from just last year. For more on shipping, consider reading Supply Chains Have Healed, Yet Their Mark On Inflation To Endure.

Ukraine War, 1 Year On: Are China’s Supply Chains Headed Toward Upheaval, Or Can It Stem The Tide? China accounts for over 36% of Russian imports and 20% of overall exports in 2022. Russia’s continues to strengthen its trade relations with China and Hong Kong, which has allowed them to become top chip suppliers. To get more, consider After 10 Rounds Of Sanctions, How Much EU-Russia Trade Is Banned? 

TPM23: Post-Covid China Sourcing Shift ‘Definitely On’. In 2022, US imports from China fell sharply from over 1M TEUs in early 2021, to just under 800K TEUs by the end of Q2 2022. Upgrading terminals on both coasts of the US has now enabled the US to have flagship terminals that enable us to “determine our own destiny” and better serve our major markets. For more on Chinese trade relations, consider reading Canada-China Trade Breaks Record, As Imports Hit $100 Billion and China's External Environment Poses Serious Challenges To Trade - Commerce Minister.

Walmart, Target And Home Depot Worst Among Us Importers For Emissions. Walmart became the highest US carbon emitter by sea in 2021, shipping 850K teu at a carbon cost of 788,019 tonnes of CO2. Target and Home Depot followed Walmart in the rankings, partially due to large retailers using spot market vessels as direct-chartered ships to avoid delays and high costs. For more, consider reading Retailers With Highest Maritime Shipping Emissions Named In New Report and Can Retail Close The Gap On Supply Chain Emissions?

TPM23: Intermodal Providers Banking On Transloading Surge. This is due to intermodal shipments in ocean containers vs domestic containers or trailers as market shares have flipped during the pandemic. 49% of the market share moves 20-foot or 40-foot ocean containers while 51% continue to move loads in 53-foot containers. However, over the past few months, domestic intermodal shipments have jumped up to 53%, while intermodal shipments have declined to 47%. To get the latest news on intermodal transportation, consider Intermodal Transport Connections Ensure Low Environmental Impact.

Exorcising Ghost Lanes From Transportation Procurement. Research conducted by MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics revealed that a surprising amount of cargo that is contracted with carriers simply never materializes. In fact, using shippers’ procurement outcomes, it was revealed that 70% of procurement lanes in any year will end up as ghost lanes. To get the latest, consider reading US Retailers' Ocean Shipping Price Woes Ending, But New Delays Threaten and Supply Chain Design Meets The Reshoring Trend.

Upgrades Speed Up Truck Traffic At Border Crossing In Texas. A new $10.3M project in Laredo, TX is hoping to reduce traffic congestion at the World Trade Bridge by adding 4 new inspection booths. This will increase capacity by 36%, allowing over 2K FAST trucks to use the World Trade Bridge route daily. For other news, consider UPS (UPS) Down 1% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound? and Fast Lanes For Trucks Available At World Trade Bridge.

Mobility 🚗 

🌟 Delta Pilots Approve Four-Year Contract With 34% Raises. The agreement, which represents more than a $7B cumulative increase over the term of the agreement, would leave the company’s 15K pilots leading the industry in total compensation. After the agreement, American Airlines said it hopes to reach an agreement with its own pilots, with whom they’ve been in negotiations. For more on the matter, read Air Canada Pilots Decry 'Embarrassing' Pay Gap With US After Delta Deal and Delta's Pilot Agreement 'Profoundly' Changes Economics For Industry, Says American Airlines.

Universal Hydrogen’s 40-Passenger Hydrogen Electric Plane Completes Maiden Flight. Weeks after getting its experimental airworthiness certification, the 40-passenger capacity aircraft took off from Washington state Thursday morning and ascended to an altitude of 3.5K before safely landing. Universal Hydrogen will now begin a 2-year testing program for full hydrogen-electric passenger flights by 2025. For more on Universal Hydrogen, check out Universal Hydrogen | Fueling Carbon-Free Flight and Universal Hydrogen Successfully Completes First Flight Of Hydrogen Regional Airliner.

Tesla Rival BYD Leads Push to Sell Chinese EV Brands Around the World. BYD, the world’s second-largest battery EV seller after Tesla, with almost 1.9M EV and hybrid global deliveries, is set to bring more of its models this year to Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Belgium. Chinese brands are able to churn out new models and scale up quickly to meet rising EV demands. Where European EVs take between 6 months and 2 years before reaching customers, BYD’s EVs are made and en route when orders come in. For more on the Chinese EV market, read First Toyota and BYD co-developed electric bZ3 rolls off the line in China for under $30K and China EV Sales Rebound For BYD, Li Auto, Nio, XPeng; LI Stock Pops. 

Audi Shows Just How Many Car Parts Can Be Recycled Through Its ‘Close The Loop’ Project. Audi partnered with 15 research, recycling, and supplier partners to find that out of 100 end-of-life Audi vehicles, 85% of the steel and more than 60% of the aluminum could be recycled for future cars. Now Audi is using recycled steel to build inner door parts for 15K vehicles at one of its German plants. For more on automotive recycling, check out Mercedes Starts On Battery Recycling Plant And Advance Earns Ul Validation For Diehard Batteries. 

Waymo Cuts 200 Employees After Second Round Of Layoffs. The layoffs of 8% of their workforce comprise mostly engineering roles, as a part of a “fiscally conservative approach” according to a Waymo spokesperson. These layoffs were announced the same week that Waymo announced plans to start testing fully driverless vehicles in Los Angeles, but analysts fear that the automaker is still years away from making enough revenue to cover its cash burn. For more on tech layoffs, read The Winter Wave of Tech Layoffs Continues and Big Tech Bows To The Ways Of Wall Street.

EU Delays Final Vote To Ban Combustion Vehicles By 2035 As Germany Suddenly Wavers. Last year, the European Parliament, Commission, and EU members negotiated for months before agreeing to potentially instill a law that would ban the sale of combustion cars by 2035. Like Italy, Germany is wavering due to the difficulty of achieving the targets without alternative solutions like climate-neutral fuels. The EU is now considering how e-fuels can be used in combustion engines after 2035. For more on the ban, check out Approval Of Eu’s 2035 Combustion Engine Ban Postponed and Germany, Italy Protest Strict Eu Plan For Combustion-Engine Ban.

VW-Backed Scout Motors To Build $2B Factory In South Carolina. The all EV, VW spinoff is finalizing plans for a factory capable of producing 200K EVs per year. This investment is in line with incentives greeted from the Inflation Reduction Act as well as likely incentive packages from South Carolina’s state government. This follows an executive order by the Governor of Columbia, South Carolina formalizing the state’s effort to roll out local EV infrastructure. Read more here: Gov. Henry Mcmaster Signs Executive Order To Coordinate State’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Roll-Out.

Fundraises and M&A 💸

Deus Robotics Raises $1.5M In Seed Funding. Out of Ukraine, Deus has developed a remote-based warehousing sorting robot to make products ready for picking and shipping.  The funds were raised from SMRK VC. Deus plans on using these funds to enter the US market.

Henchmen Raise $7M In Series A Funding. The Belgian company has created one of the most seamless contract drafting and negotiations experiences. The round was led by both Acton Capital and Adjacent VC.  The funds will go towards expanding into new geographies.

Velotric Raises $7.4M In Series A Funding. Based in Carson, California, the personal eBike maker has rapidly been taking over the market. The Series A round was co-led by Fosun RZ Capital and Redpoint China Venture Capital. Funds will go towards expanding operations.

PteroDynamics Raises $7.5M In Seed Funding.  Hailing from Colorado Springs, Colorado, PteroDynamics is an aircraft design and manufacturer with a novel vertical takeoff and landing with folding wings. The round was co-led by Lavrock Ventures, Kairos Ventures, and CS Venture Opportunities Fund. Funds will go towards further product development and European expansion.

Rubi Raises $8.7M Seed Round.  The company out of San Leandro, California, has developed a method for turning fashion manufacturing into a sustainable process. The Round was co-led by Talis Capital, H&M Group, and Tin Shed Ventures with participation from Necessary Ventures and the Collaborative Fund. These funds will go towards growing its team.

Electra Vehicles Raises $21M In Latest Funding. The American B2B EV AI software can provide battery recommendations, system performance insights, and intelligent charging control strategies. The round was led by United Ventures, with participation from Stellantis, LIFTT, Club degli Investitori, and BlackBerry Limited. These new funds will go towards scaling operations into European markets and opening its new Italian office.

Flock Raises $38M In Series B Funding. Based in London, UK, Flock is a commercial fleet insurance company, that uses telematics to allow its customers to reduce crash frequency and lower insurance premiums. The new round was led by Octopus Partners and CommerzVentures, with participation from Dig Ventures, anthemis, Foresight Ventures, and Social Capital. Funds will go towards expanding into new locations and segments of the motor industry.

Fulfil Solutions Raises $60M In Series B Funding. The Bay Area startup has developed a robotic automation solution for eComm and e-grocery retailers. The round was led by Eclipse and joined along by DCVC and Khosla Ventures. Funds will go towards beginning operations towards grocery micro-fulfillment centers.

Skydio Raises $230M In Series E Funding. An American drone tech company, Skydio has created autonomous drones for both professional and personal use. The round was led by Linse Capital, with participation from Next47, IVP, Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, and others. The new funds will go towards expanding production and boosting R&D. 

Business Building 🛠️

36 Way to Live Differently. A lot of gems in here that will make you pause and reflect on yourself. Santosh especially likes 2, 3, 5, 20, and 30 but they’re all excellent. Credit to Jon for finding this

The VC’s Customer. The original statement made in 2005 was a cornerstone of our thinking when Dynamo was founded… “The entrepreneur is the customer and the LP is the shareholder.”

The Best Way to Launch Your Startup. A video from YC outlining practical approaches to launching a new product/startup with tangible examples.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

Be sure to check out the Dynamo website for more job opportunities at our portfolio companies!

Senior Backend Engineer at Leaf Logistics in New York, New York (open to remote).

Software Engineer at SVT Robotics in Norfolk, Virginia (open to remote). 

Business Development Representative at rouvia in Berlin, Germany.