Dynamo Dispatch (09/26/22)

Issue 209 | Rentle, 1MRobotics, Benovi

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 💭

🏕️Our annual Founders Camp is a few weeks away and to say we’re excited would be an understatement. We wouldn’t be able to put on a great event without the support of this year’s sponsors which include, Chick-fil-A, Lineage Logistics, Schneider, Fifth Third Bank, Market Street Partners, FreightWaves, EPB, and Nelson Mullins.

🤓 If you want to keep tabs on the event or stay up-to-date on all things Dynamo, then be sure to hit us up on social media.

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 📦

🌟China Is First Country to Ship 100B Parcels. According to Pitney Bowes, China generated 108B parcels in total in the year 2021. Global parcel volume reached 159B in 2021 equating to 5K parcels per second. Kudos to the folks hauling parcels day-in and day-out. For more on the crazy world of parcels, Massive Overcapacity Expected To Hit Holiday Parcel Delivery Market.

Nike Is Racing To Replicate Amazon's Delivery Speed By Connecting Its Complex Network Of Stores, Warehouses, And Tech. Despite keeping specifics of its new connected-inventory plan closely guarded, rumors of Nike’s shift towards regional shipping and expanding the fleet of Nike warehouses and stores have persisted. Further changes are coming into effect to transitioning from 30K retail partners to focusing on 40 partners to enhance the “direct-to-consumer focus.” For more information, consider reading How Nike Is Attempting To Replicate Amazon’s Rapid Delivery.

Truck Duels Kick Off With Batteries Battling Fuel Cells For Top Spot. EV manufacturer Nikola unveiled its newest US fuel cell EV at the IAA Transportation this past Monday in Hanover, Germany. Production of Nikola’s Tre FCEV will begin in Europe in early 2024, boasting refueling times of 20 minutes and a range capacity of up to 500 miles. In related news, consider reading Batteries Battle Fuel Cells for Top Spot for Electric Trucks.

The Next Energy Threat Is From Surging Costs For Shipping. Yet another threat to the global energy crisis comes as freight rates of LNG (liquefied natural gas) reach elevated levels that could already surpass 2021’s peak this past winter. Asian economies will be particularly impacted as they struggle to find spare cargoes to import oil and gas from the US during the cold winter months. To understand more about how this impacts the energy crisis going forward, read Vessel Shortage For Shipping Energy Supplies Could Impact Asian Countries This Winter and Surging Shipping Costs Threaten Next Energy Crunch.

Amazon Air Cargo Flights Grow At Slowest Pace Since Early Pandemic. Post-COVID demand rates seem to be slowing down as Amazon’s cargo airline has only grown 3.8% since March, the slowest pace since 2020. This has resulted in nearly 100K lost jobs, dozens of warehouses being shut down or plans abandoned, and a fall in share price of 2.3%. To learn more about how Amazon has been dealing with lessening consumer demand, consider Amazon Dials Back Air Cargo Expansion As eComm Sales Slow.

If LTL Business Is So Lucrative, Why Are So Many Carriers Not Servicing The LTL Market? We get this question a lot. Despite the US having the 2nd largest global eComm market, there is still hesitancy in many carriers to service LTL shipping regardless of its higher efficiency in comparison to FTL. Factors for this decision include complicated operations requiring a wider network of vehicles, increased complexity in pricing in contrast to a generic weight-based pricing model, and increased liability towards insurance claims. For more information on the future of LTL, consider LTL Business Is Facing A Radical Transformation and LTL Carriers Look To Reduce Third-Party Transportation Costs.

India–US Trade Surges As Sourcing Slowly Shifts Away From China. As more and more US importers begin to implement the famed  “China-plus-one” strategy in diversifying production to other nations, countries such as India have significantly ramped up manufacturing despite slow economic growth. In fact, containerized volumes between India and the US have risen 8.3% y/y so far this year and 23.5% during 2021, showing signs of India possibly becoming the next big global manufacturer. For more information, consider reading, India-Uk Free Trade Pact To Boost Joint Ventures, Investments.

Mobility 🚗

Amtrak Aims For Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 2045. Following President Biden’s tentative rail labor agreement, Amtrak has decided to ramp up its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and further research in fuel cells, hydrogen, and other zero-emission tech. Plans include achieving 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030, ultimately removing its diesel fuel usage to meet its net-zero by 2045 goals. For news on Amtrak, consider Amtrak Pledges Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 2045 and Inside The Plant Building The Fastest Passenger Trains In America.

GM Will Sell 175K EVs To Hertz Over The Next Five Years. After purchasing 100K vehicles from Tesla and 65K EVs from Polestar, Hertz is not stepping down after agreeing to “the largest deal of its kind”. GM’s hope is that the more exposure EVs get from the rental market, the more likely that adoption gains speed as consumers can “test out” EVs prior to purchasing.

🌟More Than Half Of US Car Sales Will Be Electric By 2030. Bloomberg is bullish on BEVs (couldn’t help ourselves from the alliteration). “In 2021, EVsaccounted for less than 5% of sales in the US, below the global rate of nearly 9% and well below the adoption rate in countries like China, where plug-ins currently account for roughly 24% of new car sales.” It’s safe to say that we have a lot of catching up to do if this were to come to fruition. Similarly, Biden To Announce $900M To Build EV Charging Stations. In completely unrelated news, Mobility Startups Are Filling The Void In The Much, Much Smaller Detroit Auto Show. 

Tesla Offers CCS Adapter To Tesla Owners In North America. We know that the headline isn’t the sexiest, but this actually is more important than most folks might realize. Tesla has been opening up its Supercharger networks to drivers of other EV types which has apparently annoyed some Tesla drivers since it creates larger crowds at Superchargers across the country. Hopefully, this move diminishes those qualms. Want to read more on Tesla? Check out Tesla Is Recalling More Than 1M Vehicles Over Window Finger-Pinching Concern and Tesla Plans ‘Thousands Of Humanoid Robots Within Factories’.

Daimler Truck Debuts Eactros Longhaul Prototype At IAA. The 40ton truck will drive with up to 600 kWh battery capacity and 600 kW peak power. “Interestingly, Daimler Truck has switched to lithium iron phosphate cell technology for the first time in its electric heavyweight. According to Karin Rådström, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, because of the long service life and more usable energy, the vehicle is expected to achieve 1.2M kilometers in ten years of operation.”

Airline Tickets Could Become Even More Expensive, Aviation Execs Warn. According to William Walsh, the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the decline in refining capacity during the pandemic and higher jet fuel prices caused by the increase in demand for fuel could lead to higher ticket prices, which “have spiked by 25% in the past year — the biggest annual jump since 1989.” If you’re planning on booking a trip soon, it may be a good idea to snag that ticket in the near term. Get up to speed on more on air travel activity by reading Air Canada Signs Purchase Agreement For Heart’s Updated ES-30 Electric Aircraft and Fewer Flights, More Crowded Terminals Negatively Affecting Customer Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds.

Details Emerge On $2.4B EV Battery Plant In West Michigan. The development of battery infrastructure continues, as Gotion Inc. released plans that it’s building the factory near Big Rapids, adding a projected 2.3K jobs over the next decade. Interestingly, VW is the company's largest shareholder with a 26.5% stake. The best part about this announcement is arguably the name of the project which has been dubbed “Project Elephant” in reference to the amount of development that will take place. 

Fundraises and M&A 💸

Kaiko Systems Raises $1.9M Seed. The Berlin-based startup digitizes frontline work in ocean shipping. The round was led by Schoeller Holdings, Vineta Ventures, A Round Capital, Flagship Founders, and individual investors. The new funding will be used to help ocean shipping companies go digital.

Rentle Raises $3.8M Seed. Rental is a Finland-based startup that built a commerce platform that “provides merchants with software to make it easy and profitable to take part in the circular economy, instead of linear, old-school commerce.” The round was led by investors Tera Ventures, Anthemis, Maki.vc, Mission One Capital, The Fund, along with family offices and angel investors. The SaaS startup is now planning to expand to meet the growing demand. 

Boundless Rider Announces $4.75M Seed. Boundless Rider is a Boston-based insurance claims company focused on insuring motorcycles, ATVs, and eBikes. The round was led by American Family Ventures and joined by The Cross Country Group, SiriusPoint, and Belmont Capital. The fresh round of funding will be spent on ongoing investments in data science, partner integrations, and state expansion.

RKVST Raises $7.5M Series A. RKVST is an integrity, transparency, and trust platform for digital supply chain operations. The round was led by Ridgeline, Acadia Woods, Cyber Mentor Fund, and Long Run Capital. The funding will be used to accelerate go-to-market plans, support developers, grow partner ecosystems and accelerate feature development.

Sylvatex Raises $8.4M Series A. Sylvatex is a manufacturing technology company that collaborates with EV battery manufacturers. The round was led by  Catalus Capital with participation from Amplify Capital, How Women Invest, the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, and others. The funds will be used to reduce costs and accelerate the development of manufacturing. 

Prewave Raises $10.7M Series A. Prewave is an AI platform that helps businesses predict, find, understand, and categorize the risks affecting their suppliers. The round was led by KOMPAS and Ventech with participation from aws Gründerfonds, IST cube, seed + speed, Segnalita, Speedinvest, and Working Capital Fund. The fresh capital will be allocated toward expanding the business and acquiring new clients.

TrovaTrip Raises $15M in Series A Funding. TrovaTrip is a group travel management platform and marketplace. The round was led by Madrona with participation from PSL Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, Elevate Capital, and Portland Seed Fund. TrovaTrip will use the new funding to further advance its platform and open access to more creators. 

1MRobotics raises $16.5M Series A. 1MRobotics develops robotic nano-fulfillment centers to deploy fleets of fully automated dark stores. The round was led by Ibex Investors with participation from Emerge VC, Target Global, and INT3.  The funds will go toward addressing the key pains of last-mile operations.

Swiftly Raises $100M In Series C Funding Round. The Seattle-based company offers retailers the same digital tools used by large chains and eComm giants. The round was led by BRV Capital Management. Swiftly will deploy the fresh proceeds to expanding business.

Benovi Raises $12M In An Unknown Funding Round. Benovi is a globally mobile workforce and programs management platform. The round was led by Updata Partners. The company plans to use its new capital to grow its global team and continue expansion.

Sievo Raises $44M In The Unknown Funding Round. Sievo is a developer of procurement analytics software designed for data-driven enterprises. The round was led by Susquehanna Growth Equity. The fresh round of funding will be spent on accelerating the growth of the platform in US. and global markets.

Business Building 🛠️

SaaS Revenue Terminology. Check out this excellent breakdown on the lingo and its proper meaning. Consider the various metrics you’ll track, market, and report - CARR, ARR, GAAP Revenues, et al. That can make you feel 😵‍💫.

What Blocks Compassion? Compassion is an important attribute of leadership and so, understanding when one might limit themselves in being compassionate is critical in stressful situations.

Don't Let Growth Hurt Your Margins: A 4-Step Pricing Framework to Build Products With Scalable Unit Economics. Of interest to us was the discussion on cohort impact which at first blush seems obvious; however, we recognize the difficulty of implementing tactics to maximize strong cohorts while minimizing weaker ones.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

Site Reliability Engineer at Vector.AI in India (remote ok).

Calibration Engineer at Tangram Vision in Denver, CO (remote ok).

Marketing Content Writer at Rouvia in Berlin, Germany.