Dynamo Dispatch (26/06/23)

Issue 241 | Northvolt, Standard Fleet, Rose Rocket

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 💭

👋Many thanks to our Venture Fellow Pujeeth Meruva who departs next week for a new career opportunity. Pujeeth has been part of the Dynamo team since July 2022 and will be truly missed. We appreciate all his hard work and wish him good luck in his next adventure! 

📣We’re still spreading the news that we’ve rebranded Founders Camp to Hub + Spoke and 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)

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

Supply Chain 📦 

⭐Amazon Reopening Seller Fulfilled Prime Enrollment After Extended Pause. The feature offers Amazon sellers to handle fulfillment entirely on their own, while still giving their Prime customers 1-2 day delivery dates. Providers wanting to become part of Seller Fulfilled Prime must have nationwide delivery coverage on all standard-size products; weekend pickup and delivery; and meet a 99% of order-on-time threshold while still being on a trial period to prove they can meet these strict requirements. Get more on the world’s largest retailer by reading FTC Sues Amazon For "Tricking And Trapping" Prime Customers and Sanders Seeks Senate Probe Into Amazon’s Warehouse Safety Practices.

ACT Research: Trucking Spot Rates Should Be On The Rise. Record labor capacity contraction, which has proven to be a key factor in the spot market bottoming out, should soon start hiking spot rates again, driven by a decline in labor capacity. Rate gains have been noted since the International Roadcheck, where demand exploded in mid-May due to the annual inspection spree. In related news, consider reading Roadcheck Wraps In New York: What Inspectors Saw.

FedEx CFO Mike Lenz To Retire. After 18 years of service and 3 at the helm of FedEx’s financial operations through the struggles of COVID, Mike Lenz is retiring. An external search is underway, as Lenz will continue to serve as both CFO and Executive VP until the end of July, and a Senior Advisor until the end of the year for a smooth transition. Other talent moves… Convoy Co-Founder Grant Goodale To Step Down From Trucking Marketplace Startup After 8 Years and Chinese eComm Giant Alibaba Names New CEO, Chairman In Major Management Reshuffle.

Russia Eyes Record 7M TEU Box Traffic This Year, Despite Sanctions. This will require the use of more modern domestic seaports and rail approaches, as well as developing their logistics centers according to their largest container cargo operator TransContainer. This has caused some to view the sanctions positively as major global liners have exited and left the container market ripe for Russia to overtake and grow domestic tariffs by 5-6x. In related news regarding Russia:  Global Food Supply At Risk: Profound Effects Of The Russia-Ukraine Conflict Uncovered.

New Bid To Curb US eComm Imports, Especially From China. Two new bills, each proposed by both houses of Congress, will now eliminate the tax and duties exemptions currently allowed for shipments valued less than $800. This will eliminate the concerns of large Chinese manufacturers, such as Shein, and provide better visibility to the goods entering the US. In similar news, check out Retailers Shein And Temu Violate US Tariff Law And Evade Human Rights Reviews On Imports, House Report Says.

70% Gig Delivery Riders Ready To Adopt EV For Future Deliveries. A survey conducted by Indian research corporation Borzo of 6K delivery riders highlighted the trend towards embracing EVs as the last-mile delivery vehicle of choice. Most delivery riders in India already have adopted EV scooters and other 2-wheelers or are willing to adopt EVs in the future. Back in the warehouse, Ikea is Using Over 100 Drones for Inventory Operations.

Mobility 🚗 

⭐Ford Receives Massive $9.2B Loan To Boost Us EV Battery Capacity. This is the single biggest loan in DOE history and will be used to build 3 new battery factories at SK Innovation ONE’s West Tennessee and Central Kentucky sites. Combined these factories will be capable of generating 129 GWh of battery cells to satisfy Ford’s goals of 2M EVs by 2026. Elsewhere in OEM land, A Sneak Peek of Nissan’s Ariya EV.

Rivian To Adopt Tesla's Charging Standard In EVs And Chargers. The EV giant becomes the latest to adopt Tesla’s charging standard and will gain access to the 12K Superchargers across the US and Canada by spring 2024. Rivian will still expand its own fast-charging network, with plans to have 3.5K active stations for its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. Also, Hyundai Considering Joining Tesla’s Charging Alliance and Texas Says State-Funded EV Chargers Must Include Tesla Plugs.

Volkswagen’s Breakthrough Could Spark A Battery Manufacturing Gold Rush. Working in collaboration with printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer, VW has announced it has been able to successfully dry-coat both cathode and anode materials of a lithium-ion battery, potentially saving the company millions in the future. By eliminating the drying process for dry-coating, Volkswagen estimates they can trim their gigafactory footprint by 15% and energy usage by 30%. Other news on the German manufacturer can be read here, Volkswagen Is Confident It Can Deliver An Affordable EV (<$27K) And Profitably.

Car Quality Is Getting Worse. The survey results showed that overall issues per 100 vehicles rose by 12 up to 192 on average, a rise that can be attributed to ongoing supply chain issues. It also revealed that new car quality continues to decline for the 3rd straight year, tracing back to the introduction of new technologies and features. For other related topics, check out Customer Satisfaction For Car Service Down For First Time In 28 Years and iOS 17 Can Diagnose Car Problems For You — Here’s How.

China Launches New EV Tax Break in Effort To Boost Lagging Demand. This new tax break will total over $72B over the next four years, bringing Chinese EV tax breaks to a cumulative total of $27.8B. EV buyers will now pay up to $4K less in purchase tax per vehicle bought between 2024 and 2025.  This is an attempt to make up for China’s lagging EV demand despite being the world’s largest EV market. In other related news regarding China, consider reading See China’s Abandoned EV Graveyard: Thousands Of Cars Rot In Huge Fields and China 2023 Oil Demand Growth Seen Slower On Strong EV Sales.

Kodiak, Loadsmith To Put 800 Trucks On New Autonomous Freight Network. This makes Loadsmith Transportation the first freight transportation company specifically built for AVs. The trucks will belong to Loadsmith, but Kodiak sell its self-driving tech on a per-vehicle/per-mile subscription basis. For other autonomous trucking news, consider checking out Ariya First Drive: A Decade After Ground-Breaking Leaf, Nissan Quietly Plays Catch Up.

Fundraises and M&A 💸

Telo Trucks Raises $1.4M In Pre-Seed Funding. Telo Trucks, a new EV manufacturer based in California, has unveiled an all-electric compact pickup truck. The funding will be used to complete their first prototype by the end of the year. GoAhead Ventures led the startup’s pre-seed round, while Underdog Labs, WorkPlay Ventures, industrial designer Yves Behar and other angel investors also chipped in.

Cargobot Raises $6M In Series A Funding. Cargobot is a Miami, FL-based international digital freight company that connects shippers and carriers via its data-driven platform. The company intends to use the funds to expand its technological innovation and elevate solutions. The round was led by BPBI with participation from majority investor Total Management 2 Inc., and Transborder S.A.S.

Standard Fleet Raises $7M In Seed Funding. Standard Fleet is a provider of fleet management solutions for electric vehicles. The company revealed collaborative endeavors with EV fleet customers over the past two years with the aim of improving its fleet management software and gaining insights from nearly 100,000 electric vehicles. The round was led by UP2398 (eBay founder Pierre Omidyar), and Canvas Ventures.

Sparetech Raises $10M  in Series A Funding. Sparetech is a Stuttgart, Germany-based provider of a data platform for industrial spare parts. The company intends to use the funds to scale internationally. The round was led by Insight Partners with participation from Headline and angel investors.

Pebble Mobility Raises $13.6M In Series A Funding. Pebble Mobility comes out of stealth with its plans to develop a hassle-free electric RV experience designed for a new way to live, work and explore. The funds will be used to finish the RV prototype, which is expected to be revealed in the fall. The round included Lightspeed, Vision+, and UpHonest Capital.

Fero Labs Raises $15M In New Funding. Fero Labs is a New York-based AI-driven manufacturing process optimization software company. With this new funding, the company plans to deploy new sustainability features that will accelerate commercialization across key industries, with the internal goal of reducing at least 800,000 tons of emissions by 2025. Climate Investment led the round with additional participation from investors Blackhorn Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, and DI Technology.

Guardian Agriculture Raises $20M In Series A Funding. Guardian Agriculture produces the SC1 autonomous electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) drone, which farmers can use for aerial application of insecticides on their crops. This summer, Guardian Agriculture will begin commercial operations to support customer Wilbur-Ellis, which operates the largest crop-dusting fleet in the U.S. The funding round was led by Fall Line Capital. 

Rose Rocket Raises $38M In Series B Funding. Rose Rocket is a SOC II-compliant, cloud-native provider of transportation management software (TMS) for trucking companies and 3PLs. The funding will be used to bolster the company’s expansion into larger fleets as well as support investments in product development and network collaboration efforts. Scale Venture Partners led the equity round, with continued participation from current investors Addition Capital, Shine Capital, Scale-Up Ventures, Funders Club, and Y-Combinator.

Percepto Raises $67M in Series C Funding. Percepto is a drone startup building software and hardware for industrial drone applications. Percepto has become the first industrial drone company to get a nationwide Beyond Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver from the FAA. Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) led the round alongside Zimmer Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, Delek US Holdings, Atento Capital, Spider Capital, and Arkin Holdings.

Northvolt Raises $400M In New Funding. Northvolt AB is a Swedish battery developer and manufacturer, specializing in lithium-ion technology for electric vehicles. This investment will be used to fuel expansion efforts, which will allow them to further extend their global footprint and drive sustainable progress in their mission to deliver the world's greenest battery. The funding was provided by Canada’s Investment Management Corporation of Ontario.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

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

Software Engineer at SVT Robotics in Norfolk, VA. 

Salesforce Developer at sennder in Berlin, Germany. 

Sustainability Solutions Manager at Improvin’ in Stockholm, Sweden (remote). 

Random Statistic Of The Week 📈

🐕 In a survey of 500 US-based truckers, 50% of respondents say they travel with their pets for emotional support. In recognition of National Take Your Pet to Work Week, Truckstop commissioned the survey and found that 46% of truckers would consider a different occupation if they could not travel with their pet(s). Read more at Trucker News Survey: Truckers say they travel with their pets for 'emotional support'.