Dynamo Dispatch (2026/03/23)

Issue 367 | Grodi, Tenkara, RoboForce

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 💭

The Iran war is reshaping supply chains in real time. Oil shocks are tightening freight, pushing construction costs hot, and sending buyers scrambling to reroute and restock. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Semi is turning heads on the road, China’s robots are getting to work on the factory floor, and DHL is making a big bet that the data center boom needs its own logistics layer. Read more below!

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Make, Move, and Monetize 📦

⭐ DHL Supply Chain Powers Up Warehouses to Supply Data Centers. DHL Supply Chain is building a dedicated logistics layer for the AI data-center boom, opening 10 North American warehouses totaling more than 7M square feet to serve hyperscalers and the suppliers feeding their build-outs. The bet is that data-center logistics is becoming a specialized, high-value service, from rack assembly to sensitive equipment transport and rural-site staging, and that operators would rather outsource that complexity than build it in-house. This is another sign that AI infrastructure spending is spilling far beyond chips and servers into warehouses, transport, and industrial real estate. The winners won’t just be the data-center builders themselves, but the logistics and supply-chain firms that become critical enablers of speed, uptime, and scale. Completely unrelated, Trans-Pacific Contract Talks Accelerating After Walmart Signs.

The Strait of Hormuz is About More Than Just Oil. It Feeds 100 Million People. The Strait of Hormuz disruption is exposing a second-order crisis beyond oil: the Gulf’s food system is highly import-dependent, and with commercial shipping effectively choked off, retailers are rerouting perishables through India, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, and even overland via Europe and Turkey at sharply higher cost. For countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, which import the vast majority of their food, the result is mounting freight, insurance, and logistics expenses, delayed deliveries, and the likelihood of higher shelf prices with less product variety, even if outright shortages are not yet expected. The broader implication is that geopolitical chokepoints now threaten not just energy markets but basic consumer resilience across the Gulf, making supply-chain redundancy, food security infrastructure, and trade-route diversification far more strategic than they looked in peacetime. Also, Gulf Importers Race to Reroute as Hormuz Closure Jolts Supply Chains and How the Iran Conflict Is Disrupting Global Supply Chains.

Five Takeaways from State of Freight: Already Strong Market Gets a Wartime Jolt. The freight market was already tightening, and the Iran war has added another accelerant by driving up diesel costs just as tender rejections, spot rates, and shipper demand were all strengthening. FreightWaves’ March State of Freight argues this is not a seasonal blip: rising rejection rates, stronger flatbed pricing tied to industrial and data center buildouts, and the removal of non-compliant capacity all point to a market with real momentum. The implication is that shippers are getting squeezed from multiple angles at once — higher linehaul rates, rising fuel surcharges, and fewer available trucks — while carriers are regaining pricing power faster than many expected. For operators, investors, and founders, that makes this less about a temporary fuel shock and more about a structural turn in freight conditions that could persist through the spring. For more, check out Freight, Oil Influence US DDGS Market Direction as Middle East Conflict Continues.

US Resin Shippers Look to Tap New Customers Amid Iran War. US resin exports are spiking as the Iran war disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off a major source of global plastics supply and pushing US polyethylene prices to roughly 3x their late-February levels. Europe looks like the clearest near-term winner for incremental US volumes because trans-Atlantic economics are more attractive, while Asia likely needs a longer stretch of elevated prices to justify the longer lead times and higher freight risk. The key issue is whether this becomes a brief dislocation or a sustained trade reset: if the conflict drags on, US producers and logistics providers could capture meaningful share in export markets, but capacity limits, fuel surcharges, and route economics will determine who actually monetizes the shift.

Asian Consumers Turn to EVs Amid Iran Oil Shock. The Iran oil shock is giving EV adoption in Asia a real-world catalyst, with BYD in the Philippines and VinFast in Vietnam seeing sharp jumps in showroom traffic and sales as consumers look to escape rising fuel costs. The bigger story is that Chinese and regional EV makers are capturing the upside faster than legacy automakers, but whether this demand surge sticks will depend on charging buildout and whether high oil prices last long enough to change buying behavior structurally. This is a reminder that energy volatility can accelerate electrification faster than policy alone, and that the companies best positioned are the ones with affordable models, local distribution, and infrastructure scale already in place. Related, Reeling From the Iran War’s Oil Shock and ‘Running Out of Ideas’.

Construction Prices Spiked at ‘Staggering’ Rate to Begin 2026. Construction input costs came into 2026 running much hotter than many expected, rising at a 12.6% annualized pace through February as energy, copper, lumber, and steel all moved higher even before the Iran war’s latest oil shock fully hit the data. The concern is not just headline inflation but the second-order effect, higher diesel and shipping costs could push project economics out of balance and start forcing more owners to delay or pause jobs. The signal is that margin pressure in construction may be shifting from manageable to meaningful, especially if oil stays elevated and tariff-related volatility persists. Contractor sentiment has held up so far, but that optimism now looks vulnerable if input escalation starts outrunning what owners are willing to absorb. Completely unrelated, Stolen Target Trailer Leads Police to Huge Retail Crime Cache.

Tesla Finally Has Its First Semi-Truck and It’s Already a Hit With Truckers. Tesla’s long-delayed Semi appears to have found genuine product-market fit with drivers and fleet operators, thanks to a combination of practical advantages rather than hype: a centered cab that improves visibility, faster charging, and a 500-mile range that expands viable use cases beyond short drayage routes. The bigger surprise is that interest is arriving even as the broader US EV policy backdrop has weakened, with California grant demand and fleet orders suggesting the Semi may succeed because it solves real operating pain points, not because of subsidies alone. This matters because it hints that electrification in trucking may restart from the bottom up around vehicles with clear driver and fleet economics, rather than from mandates. If Tesla can execute on production and charging infrastructure, the Semi could become one of the first EV products to materially reshape freight operations at scale. Also, Truckers Stunned by Bizarre Feature of Tesla’s New Semi-Truck: ‘This Changes Everything’ and Truckers Love Tesla’s Electric Semi-Truck. Here’s Why.

Inside China’s Robotics Revolution. China’s humanoid robot push is real, fast-moving, and heavily subsidized, but the sci-fi vision of truly general-purpose humanlike robots is still farther off than the hype suggests. What exists today is a spectrum: some companies are already deploying useful, narrow robots in factories, retail, and logistics, while the hardest frontier remains giving humanoids enough real-world data and dexterity to operate reliably in messy, unscripted environments. The bigger takeaway is that China may not need to crack full artificial general robotics first to win commercially; it can dominate by building cheaper, specialized robots and the supply chains behind them at scale. That means the near-term opportunity is less “robot butler” and more industrial automation, teleoperation infrastructure, and vertically integrated hardware ecosystems that can turn labor replacement into a viable business now. For more, check out China is Putting OpenClaw to Work in Robots.

Thousands of Workers Strike at One of the Largest Meatpacking Plants in the US. Thousands of workers at JBS’s massive Greeley, Colorado, beef plant have launched the first US slaughterhouse strike in roughly 40 years, with 99% of the plant’s 3,800 union workers backing a walkout over wages, healthcare, and alleged unfair labor practices. The strike hits a plant that accounts for about 6% of US beef slaughter capacity at a moment when cattle supply is already near a 75-year low, beef prices are at record levels, and political scrutiny on food inflation is intensifying. The bigger takeaway is that labor unrest is now colliding with a structurally tight protein supply chain, raising the odds of higher consumer prices and exposing how concentrated, fragile, and politically sensitive the US meat system has become.

North America Ports and Trade Update. 2025 showed that tariffs disrupted North American trade flows without breaking them, as importers front-loaded shipments, rebuilt inventories, and redesigned networks around flexibility, redundancy, and regionalization. Even with monthly volatility, cargo through major US ports was nearly flat year over year, while industrial demand increasingly shifted from expensive coastal nodes toward inland hubs that offer lower costs, intermodal access, and stronger nearshoring connectivity. The real takeaway is that resilience is no longer just an operating principle; it is becoming the organizing logic for both logistics networks and industrial real estate. The advantage now goes to those positioned around optionality: modern facilities, inland corridors, and port strategies that balance speed with cost and policy risk. Unrelated, Future AI Chips Could Be Built on Glass.

Request for Startups 📢

Dynamo is always looking to meet startups that are helping to make, move, and monetize goods. Check out our latest request for startups below!

Composable WMS/OMS — The opportunity exists to build a composable WMS/OMS that preserves the core data models operators rely on, while making the system far easier to configure and extend without developer involvement, dramatically reducing the implementation and maintenance overhead that has long plagued the category. Read more here.

The Future of Supply Chain 🎙️

Check out our podcast series that’s been running since 2018. On each episode of the Future of Supply Chain, we sit down with a different entrepreneur, investor, or industry veteran to discuss innovation, technology, and the most exciting opportunities in supply chain as we build the future of the industry together.

Fundraises and M&A 💸

RBW Logistics Receives Growth Investment from LongueVue Capital. RBW Logistics provides third-party logistics services, including warehousing, fulfillment, and value-added supply chain solutions for industrial and consumer goods customers. The investment will support the company’s expansion across the Southeastern US and fund continued growth and operational scaling. LongueVue Capital led the transaction in partnership with RBW’s management team.

Grodi Raises €2.5M in Funding. Grodi develops autonomous agricultural robots, including its VEGA 11 system, which uses computer vision and machine learning to deliver real-time plant health and yield data to growers and agribusinesses. The company will use the funds to industrialize its VEGA 11 robot, expand its commercial presence across Spain’s horticultural regions, and accelerate international expansion. The round was led by Swanlaab Innvierte Agri FoodTech, with participation from Axon Desarrollo Andalucía and Innvierte.

Lithium Battery Company Raises $4.3M in Funding. Lithium Battery Company designs and manufactures lithium-ion battery packs and is developing a fully automated, vertically integrated domestic battery production facility. The company will use the funds to build out its Tampa-based automated manufacturing plant, expand R&D capabilities, and scale workforce development to support production growth. Investor details were not disclosed.

Tenkara Raises $7M in Seed Funding. Tenkara builds operational software agents that automate procurement, supplier management, compliance, and logistics workflows for US manufacturers. The company will use the funds to accelerate growth and expand its team as it scales its platform across domestic manufacturing customers. The round was led by True Ventures, with participation from HF0, WndrCo, Articulate Capital, Night Capital, SF1, Transpose, and early employees at Flexport.

eternal.ag Raises €8M in Funding. eternal.ag develops autonomous greenhouse harvesting robots, starting with a tomato-picking system built using a simulation-first approach to train and validate robots in virtual environments before real-world deployment. The company will use the funds to accelerate product development, expand commercial deployments across Europe, and extend its platform to additional crop types beyond tomatoes. The round included Simon Capital, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures, and Backbone Ventures.

Zero RFI Raises $13.8M in Seed Funding. Zero RFI is an AI-native platform that acquires and integrates construction services businesses to deliver shared intelligence, infrastructure, and decision-making tools across the building lifecycle. The company will use the funds to scale its platform, expand its portfolio of acquisitions, and deploy AI-driven solutions to improve productivity and coordination in construction projects. The round was led by General Catalyst.

RoboForce Raises $52M in Funding. RoboForce develops physical AI robots and a robotics software stack designed to perform repetitive, hazardous, and labor-intensive tasks across industrial environments such as manufacturing, logistics, and energy infrastructure. The company will use the funds to advance its robot foundation model, scale production of its general-purpose robots, and accelerate commercialization and deployment across industrial sectors. The round was led by YZi Labs, with participation from Jerry Yang, and existing investors including Myron Scholes, Gary Rieschel, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Project Prometheus Seeks $100B for AI-Focused Manufacturing Fund. Bezos’ Project Prometheus is focused on acquiring manufacturing companies and applying artificial intelligence to physical-world industrial operations. The capital is intended to fund acquisitions and integrate AI capabilities across traditional manufacturing businesses. Jeff Bezos is leading fundraising efforts, with outreach to large global asset managers, including investors in the Middle East and Singapore.

Who’s Hiring? 👩‍💻

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

Flight Software Engineer at Lux Aeterna in Denver, CO.

UI/UX Product Designer at Ceto in London, England.

Demand Generation Director, Logistics & Supply Chain AI - Fractional at Raft in London, England.