Logistech Solutions Pte Ltd, which runs logistics startup Locad, on Monday said it has raised $11 million (Rs 90 crore) in a Series A round, led by Reefknot Investments, a joint venture by Temasek Holdings and logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia's Surge, Febe Ventures, Antler, Access Ventures and JG Summit.
Shrey Jain, co-founder and chief technology officer at Locad, told VCCircle that the fresh proceeds will be deployed to boost growth, which includes investing in marketing, brand building and networking, as well as acquiring customers on the enterprise side.
“We always have been focussed on maintaining at least up to three years of runway with the cash that has been raised,” Jain said.
Founded by Jain, Constantin Robertz and Jannis Dargel in 2020, Locad enables e-commerce brands with a cloud supply chain to grow their omnichannel business.
So far, the company claims to have served over 200 brands across Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Australia and shipped more than two million transactions while maintaining a 99% same-day order fulfilment rate.
In 2021, it had raised $4.9 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge. It also saw participation from Antler, Febe Ventures, Foxmont, Global Founders Capital, Gokongwei Family and Hustle Fund.
“We believe that Locad’s logistics engine will spur greater participation in the digital economy as consumers outside of tier-I cities can now receive their orders 2-3x faster at a fraction of the usual cost,” said Ervin Lim, vice president at Reefknot Investments.
Other investments in logistics space include Hackle, Xpressbees, Shiprocket and Pidge, among others.
The logistics space in India has been gaining investors’ traction for quite some time now.
In September last year, Bengaluru-based logistics and distribution startup Hackle has secured $1.25 million in a funding from Pescafresh and Elara India Opportunity Fund.
In August last, late-stage investor Avendus Future Leaders Fund has acquired a stake in e-commerce logistics provider Xpressbees from existing investor Elevation Capital, via a secondary transaction for Rs 195 crore.
In the same month, logistics platform Shiprocket entered the much-coveted unicorn club after raising Rs 260 crore in fresh capital by existing investors Temasek Holdings and Lightrock India.
As per a report published earlier this month, there are about 100 unicorns (startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more) and 170 soonicorns (a company with the potential to become a unicorn) in India. Of these 270 companies, more than 40 operating in fintech, ecommerce and logistics have crossed $100 million in revenue in the financial year 2022.
