Flexport says it wants to make global trade easy for everyone, and fueling the growth of other tech start-ups has become a part of that playbook.
The company, with an $8 billion valuation that CB Insights said made it the eighth largest supply chain tech unicorn in the first half, sells a digital platform companies can use to track their shipments, manage orders, clear Customs and monitor their carbon footprint. A look at Flexport’s corporate investment arm, Flexport Ventures, and its founder and CEO Ryan Petersen’s investment activities clearly indicate the company doesn’t see itself as the sole solution to shippers’ supply chain challenges.
“Flexport Ventures’ thesis is that the world’s supply chain infrastructure needs to be rebuilt for the digital age,” the company said in a job posting, which went on to say “Flexport has been a steward” of the digital charge and “is creating an ecosystem for other great companies to build on top of.”
In other words, if Flexport, which capped last year with revenue of $3.3 billion, doesn’t offer it, the company sees a strategic advantage in being an investor in companies that do. To that end, Flexport Ventures ended the first quarter as the third most active investor in the world, CB Insights data revealed.
What follows is a look at the investments attached to the company or its executives since the start of the year.
Amplemarket
Round: $12M, Series A
Date: April 2022
Investors: Comcast Ventures, Armilar Venture Partners, Flexport, Caixa Capital and angel investors
What: Artificial intelligence-backed selling platform
Ninja Delivery
Round: $2.8M, Seed
Date: March 30, 2022
Investors: Lachy Groom, Contrary Capital and Flexport
What: Online-based, 10-minute grocery delivery service
Airhouse
Round: $11M, Series A
Date: March 29, 2022
Investors: DNX Ventures, Elizabeth Street Ventures, Gaingels, James Beshara, RemoteNative Ventures, Trajectory Capital, Flexport, Easypost and angel investors
What: E-commerce operations and logistics platform for direct-to-consumer brands
Kargo
Round: $25M, Series A
Date: March 23, 2022
Investors: Sozo Ventures, Founders Fund, Activant Capital, Flexport, Human Capital, Strike Capital, Lineage Ventures
What: Digital platform offering visibility into freight movements, facility operations
Powered by People
Round: $1.5M, Seed
Date: March 21, 2022
Investors: Susa Ventures, Golden Ventures, Flexport Ventures, J Ventures and the founders of DraftKings and Fabric
What: Online marketplace for wholesalers
The Powered by People online marketplace for wholesalers, featuring small batch sellers hailing from 50 countries.
Freightpay
Round: $2M, Seed
Date: March 10, 2022
Investors: Better Tomorrow Ventures, Defy, Flexport, Socially Financed, BAM Ventures
What: Freight payment automation software
Round: $40M, Series C
Date: March 10, 2022
Investors: Activant Capital, 8VC, GLP, Ryan Petersen
What: E-commerce fulfillment
Round: $17.6M, Series A
Date: March 9, 2022
Investors: F-Prime Capital, Flexport Ventures, Eight Roads Ventures India, Surface Ventures and Forum Ventures
What: First mile visibility platform for fashion companies
Owner.com
Round: $15M, Series A
Date: March 3, 2022
Investors: Altman Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Day One Ventures, Ryan Petersen and angel investors
What: Digital platform for restaurants to manage online orders
Emi Labs
Round: $11M, Series A
Date: Feb. 23, 2022
Investors: Merus Capital, Khosla Ventures, Flexport Ventures, FiDi Ventures, Lorimer Ventures, PrimeSet and Ryan Petersen among other angel investors
What: Artificial intelligence-backed recruiting platform with a focus on positions in retail, light industrial and distribution
Secureframe
Round: $56M, Series B
Date: Feb. 23, 2022
Investors: Accomplice Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Optum Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Soma Capital, Impatient Ventures, Gaingels, Kaiser Permanente, Flexport and angel investors
What: Security and compliance software
Coast
Round: $27.5M, Series A
Date: Feb. 17, 2022
Investors: Accel, Insight Partners, Avid Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Box Group, The Fintech Fund and Flexport
What: Expense management software for vehicle fleet companies
A view of the Silq platform dashboard.
Round: $15M+, Series B.
Date: Feb. 15, 2022
Investors: B Capital, AlleyCorp, Company Ventures, First Round Capital, RedPoint Ventures, Buckley Ventures, Flexport and Warby Parker and Harry’s founder Jeff Raider
What: Supply chain management software for sourcing, production and logistics among other activities
Amitruck
Round: $4M, Seed
Date: Feb. 1, 2022
Investors: Better Tomorrow Ventures, Dynamo Ventures, Rackhouse Ventures, Flexport, Knuru Capital, Launch Africa Ventures, Uncovered Fund and angel investors
What: Digital marketplace connecting shippers and transport providers
Round: $50M, Series
Date: Jan. 31, 2022
Investors: Insight Partners, Ecolab, Matchstick Ventures, Techstars Ventures and Flexport Ventures
What: AI-backed software to help retailers, brands, suppliers and manufacturers with quality and compliance
Parsyl
Round: $25M, Series B
Date: Jan. 27, 2022
Investors: HSCM Ventures, Lineage Ventures, Flexport Ventures, GLP Capital Partners and Luna
What: Refrigerated cargo insurance and risk management software
Passport
Round: $39M, Series B
Date: Jan. 25, 2022
Investors: TCV, Flexport, FJ Labs, Pure Imagination, angel investors, M13, Resolute and River Park Ventures
What: International parcel shipping for e-commerce
Meight
Round: $1.4M, Seed
Date: Jan. 18, 2022
Investors: Faber Ventures, Grupo Lusiaves SGPS, Superlyst Ventures, European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Dispatch Ventures, Ryan Petersen, Unbabel founders and angel investors
What: AI-backed platform to help trucking companies and drivers manage their fleets and fuel consumption
