Participated · Seed · Jul 2023

Terminal Industries develops AI-driven platforms to digitize and optimize yard operations, working to make yards smarter, safer, and more efficient. The company emerged from stealth to address inefficiencies in yard management by partnering with the world’s largest logistics operators on platform development. Terminal cites industry-scale friction: $10 trillion of goods are transported by truck annually, 92% of facilities lack meaningful technology enablement, and inefficiency costs the industry up to $146 billion. The team is led by CEO Max Constant and CTO Neil Robertson, Ph.D., who previously co-founded and built two venture-backed AI companies together, and President Matt Yearling, former CEO of PINC. Advisors include senior logistics executives from Walmart, UPS, Schneider, and FreightWaves. Terminal is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in San Francisco and London.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2022

YardLink started as a digital-first marketplace for construction equipment rentals and has expanded into a full-service supply‑chain management platform. Contractors can source, book and pay for tools, equipment, bulk materials, fuel, waste management and other services through the platform. CEO Neeral Shah highlights that over 95% of construction supply‑chain transactions are still conducted by phone, email or pen and paper, underscoring the market opportunity. The company says the locality of its supply chain helps minimize the carbon footprint of projects. Shah had provided trade financing for construction procurement prior to launching YardLink in 2018. YardLink currently claims to serve more than 3,000 customers. YardLink operates a digital-first, marketplace platform that connects construction firms with equipment suppliers to reduce delivery delays and on-site downtime. The company aggregates a network of 100 suppliers with more than 1,400 equipment depots across the U.K. to provide faster access than centralized traditional hire companies such as HSS Hire, Travis Perkins, Speedy Hire and Sunbelt Rentals. YardLink recently raised a £1.7 million seed round, bringing total funding to £2.4 million. The team includes founder and CEO Neeral Shah, CCO Matt Bloor and CTO Daniel Morris. The business is positioned to capture rising rental demand driven by tighter availability and new coronavirus-related site guidelines in construction, within a global construction equipment rental market estimated at around $70 billion.

Participated · Series B · Mar 2022

Nautilus Labs offers a collaborative Voyage Optimization solution that leverages machine learning, naval-architecture models, IoT data, weather patterns, and scheduling inputs to generate ship-specific, real-time predictive recommendations. The platform connects previously siloed owners and operators to enable collaboration across the ocean supply chain and provides crews with predictive decision support. Clients have seen 10–12% savings per journey, with overall savings potential up to 30% by addressing fuel waste and the hurry‑up‑to‑wait paradigm. The company will use the Series B proceeds to develop and deploy new product capabilities that support decarbonization and profit optimization, recruit tech talent, and open or expand offices in key shipping hubs. Nautilus operates hubs in New York, Singapore, London, and Paris and partners with firms including TotalEnergies, Eastern Pacific Shipping, and Emirates Shipping Line. The firm positions economic efficiency and environmental decarbonization as mutually reinforcing outcomes for ocean commerce.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2022

Trucksters operates a relay-based long‑haul trucking service that keeps trucks continuously moving by swapping semitrailers at relay points, reducing transit times and allowing drivers to return home more often. The company has delivered airline-like efficiency across four corridors, including links from Spain to Dortmund, Benelux/West Germany, Poland, and a Barcelona/Northern Spain–UK route that cuts transit time by roughly 50%. In 2022 Trucksters moved more than 600 fully loaded trucks and executed nearly 2,000 relays; its platform is used by over 600 customers, including Samsung, Bosch, LG, DHL and Nestlé. Founded in 2018 and based in Madrid, Trucksters has raised €54 million across three funding rounds. The newly announced €33 million Series B will help the company electrify its routes and aim to become one of Europe’s first electric long‑haul operators. Management and investors highlight electrification as a strategic priority and see relay systems as enabling future safety, electrification and autonomous solutions. Trucksters is a Madrid-based fleet management startup that operates a relay system platform for long-haul trucking. Its platform is used by over 600 Spanish and international companies, including Kimberly Clark, the DPD Group, Amazon and SEUR. Currently present in Germany, Belgium and Poland, the company plans to expand operations into the Netherlands and Italy this year. Trucksters says it aims to improve drivers' living conditions and enable earlier payment for rides as part of making logistics more sustainable and humane. Financially, the company closed its Series A at €14.3 million after an €8 million extension to the initial €6.3 million tranche raised in July 2021. The new funding will be used to triple its technology team and continue international expansion. By 2022 the platform plans to increase turnover sixfold to €30 million. Trucksters is a freight transport operator that provides long-distance full-truckload (FTL) service using an innovative truck relay system powered by big data and artificial intelligence. Its relay model keeps trucks continuously on the move, reducing long-distance road transit time by up to 50%. The company, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Madrid, operates from Madrid and Valencia and has presence in the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece, running three major corridors connecting Spain, Germany, France, Benelux and Poland. Trucksters is used by more than 500 clients and plans to expand internationally into Benelux, Germany and Poland, offering a wider range of routes. It intends to use the €6.3M Series A to grow the team and open new offices in Galicia and Dortmund, Germany. Trucksters offers a relay-based long‑haul trucking service that uses AI and Big Data to coordinate driver, truck and cargo handoffs so trucks stay continuously moving and delivery times can be cut by up to 50%. The system staggers 4.5‑hour driving shifts and swaps trailers to allow drivers to sleep at home, improving working conditions while lowering transit times and costs versus traditional services. The company reported monthly growth of about 40% during the year and already serves customers such as Grupo Seur, ALPI, Kimberly‑Clark, Lesaffre, Campofrío and Bofrost. Trucksters plans to consolidate two international corridors (the Mediterranean and the Central corridor) and then expand gradually into Poland and other central and eastern European markets. The new funding will also be used to invest further in technology to add more intelligence to the relay system. The Valley Venture Capital will additionally provide operational expertise and access to its digital ecosystem alongside the financial support. Trucksters develops a platform to coordinate long‑distance freight using Artificial Intelligence and Big Data to optimize transport. Its operating model uses relay driving—a driver drives ~4.5 hours, then the load is transferred so drivers can return home—reducing time away from home for professional drivers. The company says it will invest recent funds entirely in technology to continue developing its coordination platform. Trucksters captured €250,000 through the Programa Neotec promoted by the CDTI. Prior to this award it had raised more than €900,000 in venture rounds led by Big Sur Ventures and Metavallon VC. Other backers named in the articles include Porsche, Axel Springer (APX), Grupo Undanet, Grupo Andrés and corporate investors Mario Vicente, Carlos Severino, Sacha Michaud and Telmo Pérez. The company operates in the transportation sector and is based in Spain.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2021

Hier Foods is a Berlin-based startup building an infrastructure to connect local small and specialist food suppliers with retailers via integrations that link existing systems and processes. Founders Lara Hämmerle and Mark Jäger created the company to address inefficient supplier‑retailer relationships and uneven digitalisation that leave quality growers and consumers cut out. The platform facilitates frictionless communications and transactions to enable more local, diverse, and resilient food sourcing. Hier raised €7 million in a seed round and plans to use the capital to expand operations across Europe, notably through an aggressive recruitment drive. The team frames the product as a way to decentralise and sustain local supply chains and to help reduce food waste and dependence on global shocks.