Dynamo Dispatch (09/19/22)

Issue 208 | MyCarrier, Kojo, Gotham Greens

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 💭

It’s that time of year again–the search for our next cohort of Venture Fellows is ON! Know of any motivated, soon-to-be or recent college undergraduates looking to break into VC or supply chain? Refer them to Clay (clay@dynamo.vc). In exchange, he’ll treat you to a solid high five and, who knows, maybe a pair of fresh Dynamo socks? 🧦😮💥

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 📦

World's Largest Container Line Is Rerouting Its Fleet To Avoid Collisions With Endangered Blue Whales, The Largest Animals On Earth. All such ships have been rerouted 15 miles beyond the Sri Lankan coast by the Mediterranean Shipping Company to reduce the risk of hitting a whale by 95%. This is a huge step for eco-friendliness going forward as MSC became the largest container line in the world earlier in 2022, carrying 4.3M standard 20-ft containers. For more, consider reading This Shipping Company Is Rerouting Its Ships To Save Blue Whales.

Deere Invests Billions In Self-Driving Tractors, Smart Crop Sprayers. Farm industry giant John Deere & Co plans to roll out AV tractors capable of spraying fertilizers and plowing fields by themselves. The goal is to connect 1.5M tractors in over 500M acres of land by the end of 2026 to automate farming operations. As the great Jason Aldean proclaims, “We can go slow or make it go faster…I'll take you for a ride on my big green [autonomous] tractor.” Consider reading Deere's Self Driving Tractors And The Future Of Ag Tech and Deere's Self Driving Tractors And The Future Of Ag Tech to learn more.

Union Pacific Issues $600M Green Bond To Fund Decarbonization Investments The issuance of the bond comes as efforts to meet net zero emission goals by 2050 and a reduction by 26% by 2030 on Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions. The proceeds will be used towards decarbonization and emissions reduction investments in order to improve operational efficiency. For more, read Green Bonds Support Union Pacific's Sustainability Efforts.

UPS Targets 100K Seasonal Hires Ahead Of Peak. Jobs available include package handlers, driver help, and CDL drivers similar to the US Postal Service that also announced plans to hire 28K in seasonal employees. Further improvements are being made in improving warehouse productivity as nearly 100 facilities will deploy its new Smart Package Initiative. Best of luck to USPS as they aim to hire 100K employees amidst an ongoing labor shortage in the industry. For more information on the shipping industry before peak season hits, consider USPS Ready To Deliver The Holidays For The Nation and UPS Hiring 3.3K Seasonal Workers In Minneapolis For The Holidays 

🌟US Rail Strike Averted, But Labor Deal Faces Tough Union Votes. A contract between over 115K rail workers and railroads was achieved after nearly 20 hours of negotiation, ending the possibility of a nationwide rail strike. The agreement includes an immediate 14.1% wage rise if accepted in order to avoid the nearly $2B cost per day to the US economy. For more information, consider reading Amtrak Working To Restore Service and Railroad Unions And Companies Reach A Tentative Deal To Avoid A Strike.

India’s Top Conglomerate In Talks To Join Club Of iPhone Makers. The Tata Group, one of India’s largest corporations, is in talks to become the next Asian manufacturer of iPhones. India’s $1.4B consumer market and an already tech-friendly government indicate the country is on the brink of Apple’s next big expansion. To get more information, consider Tata Group May Soon Be The First Indian Company To Make iPhones. Here’s What We Know So Far.

Walmart Developed A Genius Way To Track Inventory. Retail giant Walmart has developed the industry’s leading RFID scanner, following the release of its new inventory scanner across over 4K stores nationwide. The scanner can detect items within 15 feet which is a vast improvement to traditional methods which can only capture 65% of inventory and take nearly 3x as long to process. For more on Walmart, consider reading Walmart And Other Retailers Are Canceling Billions Of Dollars In Orders and Walmart Unveils Virtual Fitting Room To Push Shoppers To Buy More Clothes.

Mobility 🚗

Automakers Zoom In On Software. For most vehicle makers, software is not their biggest competence. However, following the likes of Volkswagen and Tesla, most automakers seem to be waking up to the fact that an oversized amount of innovation in future automobiles will come from software components. For more on ways automakers are engaging with software, consider reading Major Automakers Drive Into The Metaverse To Engage With Digital Car Buyers.

Pennsylvania Embraces In-Travel Charging. Pennsylvania officials responsible for managing its turnpike are developing a pilot project with Utah State to allow EV drivers to charge their vehicles while moving. If you’re driving along the Ohio/Pennsylvania border within the next 3 years, you might be able to power up your EV without stopping. For more on EV charging innovations, read this piece on How AI Could Cut Down Charging Time By 50%.

🌟Uber Gets Hit With A Hack-Attack. Uber officials announced Thursday that it’s investigating a full-scale breach of its computer network, including everything from cloud storage to internal emails. If you’re an Uber employee, it could be a long week ahead. For more, check out Uber Hack’s Devastation Is Just Starting to Reveal Itself and Serious Breach At Uber Spotlights Hacker Social Deception.

Carbon Sequestration Could Be Coming To EVs. Dutch students from Eindhoven University of Technology announced the creation of an EV that captures more carbon than it emits, using two filters that can capture up to 2kgs (4.41 lbs) of CO2 over 20K miles of driving. Look out for these guys on their US promotional tour from NYC to Silicon Valley coming soon. To dive deeper, consider reading Dutch Students Have Invented A Zero-Emissions Car That Captures Carbon As It Drives.

Arizona Set To Accelerate EV Charging Capabilities.  According to a press release this week, the state of Arizona is set to 7x its EV charging installations in partnership with Invisible Urban Charging. Arizona has 40K registered EVs according to a June 2022 report. For more on the state of EV charging, check out this piece on Wireless Charging Technology. 

Federal Buy Clean Initiative Gives State DOTs A Boost. This week Secretary Buttigieg announced that he will embed Buy Clean principles into everything the US Department of Transportation (DOT) does agency-wide, signaling the administration's intentions to decarbonize large infrastructure procurement while accelerating innovation and facilitating a commercial path for a range of low carbon materials technologies already available or approaching the market. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, The Senate Passed A Bill To Maximize Ev Battery Recycling For Federal Fleet Vehicles. 

Fundraises and M&A 💸

Peer Robotics Raises $2.3M Seed. The US and Gurugram-based industrial automation firm provides an easier and cost-efficient way to integrate and deploy mobile robots. Kalaari Capital led the round with participation from Axilor Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, and Innopact VC. The new funding will be used for R&D on human-robot interaction and market expansion across small and medium-scale manufacturing globally. 

Cure Raises $15M In Series A Funding. The Berlin-based startup offers pharmacy delivery and other healthcare services for consumers. Breega led the round with participation from Abstract Ventures, J12 Ventures, and PiLabs. The fresh capital will go towards further product development and deeper expansion into major cities in the German market.

Ideon Technologies Raises $16M In Series A Funding Round. Ideon has developed a discovery platform that integrates proprietary detectors, imaging systems, inversion technologies, and artificial intelligence to provide x-ray-like visibility up to 1 km beneath the Earth’s surface. The round was led by Playground Global. The funds will go toward accelerating supernova-charged subsurface imaging solutions for critical mineral discovery.

MyCarrier Raises $22M In Series B Funding Round. The MyCarrier platform enables users to compare rates, book a carrier, and track deliveries. The round was led by NewRoad Capital with participation from Greycroft and Lerer Hippeau. The new funding will go toward expanding and accelerating platform offerings and investing in its product, R&D, and go-to-market teams.

Nyshex Raises $25M In Series B Funding Round. The platform unites shippers, carriers, and forwarders to revolutionize the logistics industry. The round was led by Collate Capital with participation from Blumberg Capital, Goldman Sachs, and NewRoad Capital. The fresh funds will be used to make freight more reliable through trust, data, and workflows.

TruckSmarter Raises $25M Series B. TruckSmarter’s free platform allows truckers, carriers, and dispatchers to search and book loads. The round was led by Thrive Capital, with participating investors like Founders Fund, a16z, Bain Capital Ventures, Fin Capital, and some big names in the industry. The new funding will go to work with their client base. 

Litmus Automation Raises $30M In Series B. Litmus provides the solution to transform critical edge data into actionable intelligence that can power maintenance. The round was led by Belden. The new funds will go towards team expansion, go-to-market efforts, and “scaling to support enterprise customers globally.”

HICX Raises $30M In The Unknown Funding Round. The London-based supplier experience management platform was designed to give companies visibility into their supply chain. The round was led by Wavecrest Growth Partners and Canada’s Espresso Capital. The new funding will be used to help companies optimize supplier experience.

Monta Raises €30M in Series A Funding Round. The Copenhagen-based EV charging company builds out charging solutions to make it easier to charge electric vehicles everywhere. The round was led by Energize Ventures. Monta will deploy the fresh proceeds for product development. 

Tidelift Raises $33.5M In Series C Funding Round. It's a provider of solutions for improving open-source software supply chain resilience. The recent $6.5M investments from AEI HorizonX and Cisco Investments extend the company's Series C financing to $33.5M alongside existing investors Dorilton Ventures, Kaiser Permanente, Atlassian Ventures, General Catalyst, and Foundry. The new funds will be used to expand the capabilities of its open-source software management solution and extend its market reach.

HopSkipDrive Raises $37M Series D. The California-based company offers safe and dependable transportation solutions for schools and families. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners, Keyframe Capital, FirstMark Capital, Alumni Ventures, Transform Capital, and others. The new funding will be used to continue its ambitious transformation and modernization of school transportation. 

Iontra Raises $38M Series B Funding. Iontra is a battery performance and safety startup with breakthrough charging tech that will replace incumbent CC/CV charging. The round was led by Volta Energy Technologies, LLC, with participation from Flag Group and other investors. The fresh funds will be used to advance revolutionary battery charging and development platforms. 

ClearMotion Raises $39M In The Unknown Funding Round. A Boston-based company builds products enabling a next-generation user experience in vehicles. The round was led by Nio Capital, with participation from BAI Capital, Franklin Templeton, NewView Capital, and Acadia Woods Partners. The new proceeds will go toward  “industrializing” its products in China.

Kojo Raises $39M In Series C Funding Round. Kojo is a materials procurement platform for trade and self-performing general contractors. The round was led by Battery Ventures. The company will use its new capital to continue building out its team and invest in new offerings that cross over to the fintech world.

Xeneta Raises $80M In Series D Funding Round. Xeneta is an ocean freight rate benchmarking and market intelligence platform. The round was led by Apax Digital with participation from Lugard Road Capital. The new capital will be used to build out its datasets and customers across more global routes.

Denim Raises $126M Series B. It helps freight brokers grow faster by automating their back-office and providing fast and affordable working capital. The round was led by Pelion Venture Partner. The funds will be used to Scale Financial Automation and Payments Platform for Freight Industry.

Gotham Greens Raises $310M In Series E Funding Round. The Brooklyn-based startup develops commercial-scale greenhouse facilities intended for sustainable vegetable production. The round was led by BMO Impact Investment Fund and Ares Management funds, with participation from Commonfund, RockCreek, and Kimco Realty Corp among others. The new funding will go towards expanding its leadership within the fast-growing controlled environment agriculture sector.

TeraWatt Infrastructure Raises $1B In Series A Funding Round. It operates an electric vehicle charging infrastructure for medium and heavy-duty transport and fleets. The round was led by Vision Ridge Capital Partners, Keyframe Capital Partners, and Cyrus Capital Partners. The new cash will go toward building electric-vehicle charging stations for commercial fleets of cars, delivery vans, or trucks.

Business Building 🛠️

The Importance of Partnerships. We’d recommend the sections on 1) how the nature/purpose of partnerships have changed, 2) selling as the best-in-class part of the stack, and 3) proving the ROI.

ICONIQ Growth: Data Behind Scaling B2B SaaS. The study gathers data from >90 companies with a very clear methodology and approach. Perhaps a controversial take, pre-seed and seed companies shouldn’t get bogged down in these metrics but focus on building something that solves a problem and that people are willing to pay for.  That said, we’d particularly point out the parts on net revenue retention, resilience as defined by the rule of forty, and how sales-led growth is still ruling the roost (slide 23)

Testing a Startup Idea While Employed. We field a lot of these inquiries, especially from those in the industry. The one thing we’d flag is that few quality investors will fund a team without them going full-time. For most, this also raises the realization that startup life (even as a founder) does not pay as well as corporate life - the itch to solve a problem is what keeps the best teams grinding through the highs and lows.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

Product Marketing Manager at Leaf Logistics in New York City, NY (remote ok).

Full-Stack Clojure Developer at Red Sky in Berlin, Germany. 

Data Analyst, Quality & Performance at VIZION in Atlanta, GA (remote ok).