Logistics tech startup Locus raises $50 million in Series C funding
Led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, logistics tech startup Locus has raised $50 million in Series C funding.
Logistics tech startup Locus has raised $50 million in Series C funding led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and existing investors Tiger Global and Falcon Edge. Several angel investors such as Amrish Rau of Pine Labs and Kunal Shah of Cred participated in this round.
The supply chain & logistics-planning platform had raised as much as $30 million in earlier rounds of funding. The funds secured in this round will be used to improve geographical reach, build R&D teams and expand product portfolio, the company said in a statement. Further, the company plans to recruit more PhDs to bolster its data science teams with an aim of doubling the number of patents filed by 2022.
R&D forms the backbone of a company like Locus, which relies on deep machine learning and proprietary algorithms to help clients reduce logistics costs in their supply chains.
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While fulfilling over 450 million deliveries, the company claims to have helped clients reduce the distance travelled by over 70 million kilometers. Overall, Locus has helped its clients save $150 million in logistical costs, the company said. Some of its top clients include Nestle, Mondelez, Unilever, BigBasket, Blue Dart and Tata Group.
Demand for such services is only going to go up. According to a RedSeer report, e-commerce shipments went up from 817 million in 2018 to 1,364 million in 2020. That number is expected to touch 5,000 million by 2025. In India, the last-mile delivery market will be worth $6-7 billion by 2024, the report said
To tap the opportunity, the company is looking to support customers with a global footprint by stepping into new geographies like Latin America, said Nishith Rastogi, founder, and chief executive officer, Locus. Since 2016, Locus has been growing at 2.75 times (YoY).
In 2015, Nishith Rastogi and Geet Garg founded Locus after RideSafe - their real-time route tracking app for women's safety - was adopted by food tech companies to track delivery fleets.
Currently, the company serves clients across North America, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Indian subcontinent.
(Edited by : Jomy Jos Pullokaran)
First Published: Jun 2, 2021 6:08 PM IST
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