Dynamo Dispatch. Weekly update from Dynamo Ventures covering the latest and greatest in supply chain, mobility, and building venture-scale businesses.

💥 Have you seen any interesting startups recently? Introduce us.❤️ We would love your support. Please forward to friends and share on social media.🗞️ If you were forwarded this and found it interesting, please sign up.🎙 Check out Dynamo's podcast series, The Future of Supply Chain.

Weekly Commentary 💭

We’re back and excited to introduce Katie Kent who joined us last week to run Operations. Katie will support us on a variety of efforts- organizing portfolio support initiatives, being the execution muscle behind ecosystem events, and special projects.

Shout out to Chris and Farah for the referrals.

We Are Dynamo,

Santosh, Ted, Barry, Jon, Katie, Rachel, and Emily

Note: please add “[email protected]” to your email client, so you don’t miss future issues due to aggressive spam filters.

Supply Chain 📦

UPS Bets on Electric Aircraft to Get Packages to the Hinterlands. UPS is buying 10 small eVTOLs in order to reduce the cost of flying into remote areas. The initial delivery of these planes is planned for 2024 and UPS has retained the option to acquire as many as 150 planes. UPS’ investment signals that freight delivery will likely be one of the first industries that takes advantage of eVTOLs. On the ground, Embark Standardizes Self-Driving Tech for Major Truck OEMs.

Shipments Delayed by the Ever Given. The Ever Given is no longer wreaking havoc on the Suez Canal, but it is still wreaking havoc on global supply chains.The six days that the Ever Given spent in the Suez Canal led to a delay of at least 66,480 containers of cargo. These containers had everything from beer to IKEA furniture. The routes that faced the most disruption were the Asia to Europe routes followed by India to the US with household and personal products being the most common items in these containers. Related, Ripples from Suez Ending in Waves of Price Increases on All Container Tradelanes and Maybe the Ever Given Geography Lesson.

Gatik, Isuzu to Partner on Autonomous Truck Platform. Dynamo portfolio company Gatik AI is partnering with Isuzu on their L4 autonomous medium-duty truck. Isuzu will deploy Gatik’s middle-mile autonomous solution on its N-Series models. Gatik CEO Gautam Narang said that “by bringing these two teams together we can create segment-changing technology while positioning Gatik to safely commercialize autonomous delivery technology at scale.” In other trucking news Cowen: Arrival’s unique approach sets up opportunity in EV space.

Gap Designs Fulfillment System to Prioritize ‘Most Valuable' Customers. Gap is introducing a new tiered fulfillment system to prioritize its “most valuable lifetime” customers. This shift in fulfillment strategy came after Gap’s online sales reached over $6B last year which is +54% y/y. Since 50% of traffic and 75% of Gap’s sales are now mobile, Gap wants this new fulfillment system to create a frictionless mobile shopping experience that will live up to high customer expectations. In other fulfillment news, Warehouse Space Seen Running Out in Canada by the End of 2021 and Amazon Has Converted as Many as 25 Malls into DCs.

COVID-19 Left No Supply Chain Unscathed. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 98% of global supply chains and industries that invested significantly in outsourcing, offshoring, and lean manufacturing saw dramatic increases in risks play out. Reshoring could reduce this risk in the future and 70% of companies said they were likely or extremely likely to reshore in the coming years. Some of the pros of reshoring include proximity to the market and supply chain optimization. Some cons of reshoring include environmental regulations and lack of skilled labor. In other COVID-19 supply chain news, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Production Pace to Increase at Contract Manufacturer Catalent.

Amazon Workers in Alabama Vote Against Forming a Union. About 71% of the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse employees voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, according to the NLRB. In a news conference, warehouse employees who voted against the union thought that changes at the facility such as added management training could be resolved without a union. In a statement Amazon said that the eComm giant didn’t win, but that their employees “made the choice against joining a union.” And totally unrelated, ABB and AWS Team Up to Create a New Fleet Management Platform.

Strong Import Gains Remain Forecasted Through the Summer. A new report by the NRF predicts that strong import volumes will remain at or above the 2M TEU range through August 2021. The only other time that TEU was this high was in October 2018. This sustained increase is likely due to the money saved from staying at home and the multiple stimulus checks in the past year. NRF VP Jonathan Gold says this has “consumers purchasing goods as fast as retailers can stock the shelves.” Related Additional Port Capacity Can't Solve Congestion Issues LA-LB and South Carolina Ports Break an All-time Record.

Mobility 🚗

Faster EV Charging. Battery swapping is gaining momentum as a way to speed up EV charging times. Battery swapping is a process where the driver of an EV goes to a swapping station where their dead battery is taken out of their vehicle and replaced with a fully charged one. This process is taking off in China where automaker NIO has done 2M swaps at 192 stations. In China, there are 663 swapping stations up from 400 in 2019 and 235 in 2018. When used batteries are taken out or cars their life is not over. In fact there can be a Second Life for EV batteries.

GM to Build an Electric Chevrolet Silverado Pickup Truck with More Than 400 Miles of Range. This week GM announced that they will be releasing an electric Chevy Silverado as a part of their push to deliver more than 1M EVs globally by 2025.The automaker has committed more than $27B to AV and EV development, including $7B in 2021 alone and plans to launch more than 30 EVs global by the end of 2025 with more than two-thirds available in North America. The new eSilverado will go head-to-head with Ford’s eF-150. In other EV news Kia Presents First Dedicated Electric Car Kia EV6 on E-GMP and GM Inventory Shrunk by 50% in the Last Year.

eBikes Rule China’s Urban Streets. There are approximately 300M eBikes in China and that number is expected to rise. While China does have the world’s biggest car market, car ownership is out of the question for hundreds of millions of poor Chinese families, but eBikes are a more affordable option. eBike manufacturers are also rapidly growing in China. In 2020 there were about 51.6K eBike manufacturers in China up 83% from 2019 and as of this February 223K companies were in an eBike related business. Still not sold on bikes? According to a new Oxford study Switching from Cars to Bikes Cuts Commuting Emissions by 67% and in other Asian eBike news Seoul’s eBike-Sharing Service Becomes Safer With Soaring Demand

eMobility Investments Revealed in the USA. More details about President Biden’s infrastructure plan emerged this week. The American jobs plan includes $100B to go towards purchase subsidies for electric cars, $15B towards building 500K charging stations, $25B for eBuses, and $14B in tax incentives for EVs. Most of the funds earmarked for eMobility would go towards rebates for EV purchases and the expansion of charging networks. This would make automakers such as Tesla and GM happy since they are missing out on a $7.5K tax credit per EV. Related Biden Wants to Give EVs a Huge Boost. Will People Buy Them?

Railroads, Growth Stocks of the 19th Century, Are Hot Again. The proposed merger of the Candian Pacifc and Kansas City Southern railroads is showing just how valuable America’s freight rail network is. Kansas City Southern is the best performer with a more than 1,000% return. These large returns are in spite of a decline in the the most lucrative commodity that they carried--coal to power plants. Even if the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merger isn’t approved, the rise of precision scheduling, increased operating ratios, and great fuel efficiency could mean that rail will be even more valuable in the future. Even more train news As Biden Pushes Major Rail Investments, Amtrak's 2035 Map Has People Talking.

England’s New Bus Strategy Faces Challenge to Get Passengers on Board. In 1986 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher privatized all the UK buses except for those in London. In the intervening decades, bus ridership outside of London declined by 45% and increased by 80% in London. The current UK PM, Boris Johnson, is aiming to reverse this trend by letting local authorities choose how closely they want to work with bus operators, including moving to a fully franchising system under which it allocates the routes, similar to what London has. Johnson sees the new bus strategy as part of “leveling up” UK infrastructure. In other UK bus news eBuses Coming to Aberdeen, Perth and Kilmarnock and Swarco eVolt to Install Chargers for Electric Cabs in Wales.

Fundraises and M&A 💸

ChargerHelp Raises $2.75M. ChargerHelp is a Los Angeles-based startup that provides an on-demand repair app for EV charging stations. ChargerHelp’s app aims to solve charger usage problems that stem from a lack of working chargers in an area. The funds will be used to build out its platform and expand their team.

Nuvocargo Raises $12M Led by QED. Nuvocargo is a digital logistics platform for cross-border trade. The company offers an all-in-one service that has freight forwarding, customs brokerage, cargo insurance, and even trade all into one app. The capital infusion will be used for further growth and expansion.

Rapid Robotics Raises $12M Led by NEA. Rapid Robotics is the creator of the first ready-to-work robotic machine operator. The machine operator performs tasks that are basic, exacting, and repetitive which small factories have had a hard time hiring people to do. The new capital will be used to further its expansion with small factories in the midwest and the southwest.

Swyft Raises $17.5M Co-Led by Inovia and Forerunner. Swyft helps retailers of any size provide affordable same day delivery. The startup offers a marketplace which connects shippers to vendors as well as software that makes this process more efficient so more orders can be fulfilled. The funds will be used to further expand their team and services.

AxelHire Raises $20M Led by Ajax Strategies. AxelHire is a logistics innovation leader for last mile delivery. The company uses algorithms to increase predictability, reliability, and responsiveness for shippers. The fresh funds will be used to expand their technological capabilities, grow their team, and expand into new markets.

Mercato Raises $26M by Velvet Sea Ventures. Mercato is an online grocery platform that helps smaller grocers and specialty food stores get online quickly and offer their inventory for pick up and delivery. The startup helped grow its merchants sales by 1300% in 2020. The capital infusion will be used to expand their team, improve its data analytics platform, and add more consumer benefits.

Oda Raises $265M Co-Led by Softbank and Prosus. Oda, formerly known as Kolonial, is a same to next day delivery service for “weekly shop” goods such as food, meal kits, and home essentials. The startup has benefited from a rapid increase in deliveries in 2020. The additional capital will be used to expand into new markets.

Swiggy Raises $800M. Swiggy is a food delivery startup that operates in India. The Indian food delivery market is estimated to be worth $12B by 2022 and dominated by three players: Swiggy, Zomato, and Amazon. The fresh capital will be used for further expansion in India.

Softbank Buys Into Autostore for $2.8B. Softbank has agreed to buy a 40% stake in AutoStore, a Norwegian robotics company, for $2.8B. Autostore has 20,000 robots deployed across 35 countries and companies Best Buy, Siemens, and Puma use their technology. This acquisition puts Autostore’s valuation at $7.7B.

FourKites Acquires Haven. Freight visibility provider FourKites acquired global logistics software vendor Haven. FourKites will rebrand Haven as Dynamic OceanSM. This product will encompass Haven’s document management and collaboration features, in addition to support for ocean freight bookings. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

AppHarvest Acquires Root AI. AppHarvest has acquired Root AI, a startup that creates intelligent robots to help manage high-tech indoor farms. The acquisition of Root AI, is expected to provide a baseline of harvesting support and also help crop care specialists on more complex tasks. AppHarvest also thinks that the data that these robots collect while harvesting could be “game-changing.”

SPAC Radar 📡

Sarcos in $1.3B deal with Rotor. Sarcos is a maker of wearable robotics technology based in Salt Lake City. The company develops robotic systems for non-repetitive tasks that are designed to increase productivity for both industrial and military use cases. Its wearable devices help reduce workplace injuries.

Company Building 🛠️

Discovering Problems Customers Care About. No recap can do this justice - a great tweet storm using visuals. Especially relevant to enterprise founders and product leaders.

Global Venture Funding Hits All-time Highs in Q1. In the first quarter of 2021, global venture investments reached $125B, +50% q/q and +94% y/y according to Crunchbase. Seed deals held strong at $1.4B but VCs continue to fund fewer companies (and as such, round sizes continue to go up). The note from CB is that their data does lag a few quarters so seed stage deal volume might tick up as records are updated.

Tips for Writing Better from Amazon. The things that stick out - keep it short, keep it straight forward, and use data not obscure adjectives.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

Senior Backend Engineer at Vizion in Atlanta, GA (remote ok).

Python Engineer at Backbone AI in New York, NY (remote ok).

BDR at Milk Moovement in St. John’s, Halifax (remote ok).

Check out other jobs at Dynamo portfolio companies.💥 Have you seen any interesting startups recently? Introduce us.❤️ We would love your support. Please forward to friends and share on social media.🗞️ If you were forwarded this and found it interesting, please sign up.🎙 Check out Dynamo's podcast series, The Future of Supply Chain.