Dynamo Dispatch. A 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 💭

Shoutout to Leo Polovets, Gabriella Brignardello, and Zach Fredericks for the recent introductions to startups, corporates, and investor friends. Got a startup in the supply chain space that we should check out? We’re always open to referrals - shoot us an email at [email protected]. Maybe we’ll give you a shoutout in return. 😉

P.S. Just two more days until our Venture Fellow Application closes. Know of any high-quality candidates? Send them our way. 

We Are Dynamo,

Clay, Santosh, Jon, and the rest of the Dynamo team

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Supply Chain 📦

🌟American Stores Have Too Much Of The Wrong Stuff. Retailers went from operating with lean inventories last year to being overstocked this year. Why? Inflation has pivoted purchasing patterns as consumers move away from discretionary spending and focus more on the “essentials”. On top of this spending shift, consumers are also becoming more selective about what to buy. Michelle Gass, CEO of Kohl’s, stated on an earnings call that the department store has seen a decline in units purchased per visit so far this year. For more on retail, check out REI Appoints First Chief Supply Chain Officer To Support Growth Initiatives and Target And Walmart Are Victims Of Their Own Inventory Success.

Nations Aim To Secure Supply Chains By Turning Offshoring Into ‘Friend-Shoring’. Think of “friend-shoring” as a hybrid between supply chain globalization and domestic production. Countries in favor of this trend “see it as a chance to revamp global supply chains to reduce their reliance on countries with autocratic governments and nonmarket economies, namely China and Russia”. Skeptics, however, believe that “friend-shoring” is just a way for companies to stall domestic production even though it creates more jobs for Americans and improves supply chain security. As nearshoring continues to gain steam, there’s a chance this idea of “friend-shoring” will grow as well. For more on international supply chains and logistics, check out FIATA Issues Multimodal Electronic Bill Of Lading For All Members.

Nestle Expedites Baby Formula Resupply With Air Cargo. The desperate need for baby formula has seen airfreight logistics play a crucial role during the current formula shortage. The White House was a key driver towards the resupply as it ordered the Defense Department to direct commercial cargo airlines to transport formula to the US from other countries. In addition to that, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act, requiring suppliers to prioritize delivery of ingredients to formula manufacturers over other customers. We’ve also seen the FDA play its part as it relaxes the previously strict import and safety regulations. In other news, check out Senators Demand Gun Shipment Stats From Trucking, Rail Companies Following Shootings and Echo Global Logistics CEO Waggoner Addresses Key Market Trends And Themes.

Hapag-Lloyd Eyes Pole Position In Container Data Race. Hapag-Lloyd executive Olaf Halbert said that one of their goals is to use boxes to gather operational data from trackable devices. Considering the size of the company’s fleet, there will be some logistics challenges in rolling out the sensor to all of their depots. Just equipping new buildings would take around 15 years. The reported goal is to get the entire fleet enabled with sensors as soon as possible. In other news, consider reading Motorola Pays Premium On Secondary Markets For Semiconductors. 

Russian Attacks On Ukraine Supply Chains A Tactical Measure To Stoke Unrest. Russian forces have mitigated Ukrainian black sea exports to diminish Ukraine’s ability to gain income. The Black Sea ports, particularly Odessa and Mariupol, handle some 90% of Ukrainian grain shipments. Around 16% of the world's corn and 55% of global trade in sunflower oil were produced in Ukraine last year.  Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy has reported that exports fell to one-tenth of pre-war levels. In other news, consider reading Spot Market Normalization Signals Uncertain Future and Inflation Comes In Many Flavors. 

Food Inflation Risks Flare on India’s Wheat Export Curbs. Yet another pressure has hammered the global food supply chain as India moves to restrict wheat exports. Previously this wouldn’t have been as impactful but given the recent string of droughts, floods, and global unrest, the global food supply has found itself in quite the kink. Prices for livestock feed and meat have been steadily increasing showing no signs of retreat. The global food shock could pose a threat to millions of people in both the short term as well as the long term from a sustainability perspective. In other news, consider reading Supply Chain News: Why Are Gas And Diesel Prices So High and Demand Is Up At Human Milk Banks Amid Baby Formula Crisis. 

Gatik And Walmart Notch A Big Win In Kansas With New Law Enabling Driverless Vehicle Deployment. This article theoretically falls under Mobility but, since it heavily features our very own middle-mile-focused portfolio company Gatik, we figured we’d toss it towards the end of the Supply Chain section. This week marks a milestone for the self-driving community following the signing of Senate Bill 313 into law by Governor Laura Kelly. The law enables the deployment of Gatik’s SAE Level 4 driverless medium-duty trucks on the public roads of Kansas, but it goes beyond Gatik’s specific use case as well. This new legislation makes Kansas the 25th State in the US to allow AVs to operate on public roads. For more on autonomous delivery, check out Uber Eats Pilot Autonomous Delivery With Serve Robotics, Motions.

Mobility 🚗

🌟Does The US Have Enough Lithium To Support the Growing EV Market? Demand for EVs has skyrocketed in step with the increasing gas prices. Subsequently, lithium prices have also risen to match. The problem the US faces is that it only produces 1% of global lithium production, concentrated almost entirely in Nevada. The biggest hurdle to overcome will most likely be time - it takes around 4 to 10 years to bring a new resource to production. In other news, consider reading Kia To Make Purpose Built EVs At New Korea Plant From 2025 and Tesla Is Building One Of The World’s Largest Supercharger Stations In The Mojave Desert. 

Wayve And Microsoft Partner To Scale Autonomous Vehicles. Wayve and Microsoft have started a joint venture to leverage supercomputing to enable AI-based models for AVs. The data, like many AVs, is coming from cameras in real-time with complementary information from radar. They’re setting out to leverage supercomputing technology that would be able to process video data in an AV setting. While it is unclear how much success this methodology will have relative to others, there are a vast amount of companies taking a crack at the problem that could lead to interesting innovations. In other news, Tesla's New Full Self-Driving Update Has Loads Of Potential Improvements and Ford-Backed Robotaxi Start-Up Argo AI Is Ditching Its Human Safety Drivers In Miami And Austin. 

After Decades Of EV Trials, GM Thinks Having Full Portfolio Is Key To Success. GM president Mark Reuss emphasized the shift in GM’s EV strategy to roll out a robust EV portfolio at once rather than having singular models for sale one at a time. The benefit of this strategy is that it becomes a lot easier for consumers to compare similar models. It also allows GM to promote the portfolio without it coming at the expense of gas-powered models. GM is banking on this strategy as it continues to prepare to release a slew of EVs within the next year. In related news, check out The Latest Numbers On The Microchip Shortage: N.A. Plants Get Chip Reprieve and Mercedes’s Electric G-Wagon Will Get Range-Boosting Battery Tech.

Why Driverless Cars Can't Go Everywhere Yet. A plethora of engineering, capital, and regulatory issues are stalling AV adoption. Companies and local governments are working together to cross some of these barriers with increased funding as well as developing regulatory frameworks that work for all parties. The only company with a robotaxi service up and running is Waymo in Phoenix. That being said though, there has been momentum building (slowly) and we’re starting to see more and more live trials. In related news, check out What’s Holding Back The Self-Driving Car Revolution and Bird Changes Course, Drops Vehicle Sales In Pursuit Of Profitability.

Uber Unveils New Products For Business Travelers, Wedding Parties, And EVs. This is another step in Uber’s pivot from purely a ride-sharing service to encompassing all aspects of travel. The company is launching a new product called Uber travel which allows seamless booking of hotels and flights associated with getting to a destination. This integration of different aspects of travel is an interesting move that could be the start of a new trend amongst ride-sharing companies. In other news, consider reading Bird Launches Google-Powered Parking Tool For eScooters and Airports Give Robotaxis Runway Ahead.

Now Non-Tesla EVs Can Use Its Superchargers In The UK, Spain, Sweden, And Austria. The European charging integration continues as Tesla expands its pilot program to let more owners of non-Tesla EVs use the company’s charging network. Musk has talked about ways to extend the program to the US for a year now, although just announced plans to add standardized connectors last week. This is a big win for EV owners as it increases the realistic distance of road trips. The big hurdle for this type of consistency in the US is that Europe has charging standards that decrease demand for connectors, allowing for a more seamless charging experience. In other news, Tesla To Add Industry Connectors To Supercharger Network In The US and Tesla Has The Top 3 Electric Cars In The US, And It’s Not Even Close. 

United Airlines Reaches Agreement With ALPA Union Amid Pilot Shortage. United Airlines has become the first major US carrier to come to terms with its pilots’ labor union on a new contract. As airlines around the world are facing staff shortages, this deal could be the first sign of relief. The carrier is likely to offer better pay and working hours, hopefully leading to a return of pilots to the workforce after departing during COVID. If things go well for United it could lead to the start of an industry-wide trend and a greater emphasis on getting deals done between airlines and unions.

Fundraises and M&A 💸

Timberhub Raises €1.5M Led By Speedinvest. Timberhub is an Amsterdam-based digital timber marketplace. It equips manufacturers with the tools to manage and grow their business while enabling sawmills to expand their network beyond their traditional set of buyers.  As of now, the company is working with customers and sawmills from Germany, Austria, Romania, Poland and Ukraine.

Roetz Raises €1.8M Led By Veth Investments. Roetz is an Amsterdam-based circular bicycle brand. According to the company, around 1M bicycles are discarded and left for waste in the Netherlands, while many parts are still usable. The funds will be used to accelerate production to meet the growing demand for its eBikes.

Topship Raises $2.5M Led By Flexport. Topship is a Nigeria-based digital freight forwarder. Additional investors include Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Starling Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, Capital X, and True Capital. The funds will be used to expand operations and improve its asset-light technology.

FloorFound Raises $10.5M Led By Next Coast Ventures And LiveOak Venture Partners. FloorFound is an Austin-based recommerce platform. The company currently has four major third-party logistics partnerships and over 40 warehouse hubs. The funds will be used to expand its market presence in the US and move into additional retail verticals like appliances, mattresses and exercise equipment.

ChargeLab Raises $15M Led By King River Capital. ChargeLab is a Toronto-based startup that builds software to operate and optimize EV charging equipment for fleets and commercial customers. Additional investors include ABB E-mobility which comes with a commercial agreement to bundle their technology together. The funds will be used to advance its product.

EXO Freight Raises $15M Led By Left Lane Capital. EXO Freight is a Michigan-based digital freight marketplace. The company has seen 33% m/m revenue growth since its initial raise in June 2021 and is currently working with over 50 enterprise shippers. The funds will be used to grow its team and scale its platform.

Tractian Raises $15M Led By Next47. Tractian develops a product to monitor the status of machines and electrical infrastructure. Founded in 2019, Tractian is the brainchild of Y Combinator alumni Marinelli and Gabriel Lameirinhas. The funds will be used towards product development and expanding its team and geographic footprint.

Everstream Analytics Raises $24M Series A. Eversteam is a global supply chain insights and risk analytics company. Investors include Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Columbia Capital, StepStone Group, and DHL. The funds will be used to accelerate product innovation and expand its global footprint.

Keelvar Raises $24M Led By 83North. Keelvar is an AI-enabled sourcing automation and optimization software for enterprise procurement teams. It enables leading enterprises such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Samsung and Tesco to identify reliable suppliers, control costs and make quick, effective and smart sourcing decisions. The funds will be used to scale across the US and advance its solution.

PhiGent Robotics Raises $30M Led By Ince Capital. PhiGent Robotics utilizes visual 3D understanding to offer autonomous driving solutions. Its core team comprises more than 130 staff members, all from top AI algorithm, chip and automated driving companies in China and abroad. The funds will be used for core technology R&D, high-quality mass production, and commercial deployment.

Infinitum Electric Raises $80M Led By Riverstone Holdings. Infinitum builds efficient electric motors. The company has secured customer agreements with more than $900M in potential orders across a wide variety of companies including the heavy industry, manufacturing, HVAC, and transportation. The funds will be used for production and commercialization.

Optibus Raises $100M Series D. Optibus is an AI-based mass transit operations platform. Investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Verizon Ventures, Pitango First & Pitango Growth, Tencent, and SOMV Momentum. The funds will be used to expand its product set and business footprint.

Fashinza Raises $100M Led By Prosus Ventures And Westbridge. Fashinza is an India-based B2B supply chain marketplace for fashion brands. It was launched in 2020 and now employs a workforce of over 200 people. The funds will be used to refine the company’s supply chain technology and expand into new markets, including raw materials procurement.

GreyOrange Raises $110M Led By Mithril Capital Management. GreyOrange specializes in building warehouse and logistics robotic systems. It also announced back in March that it was deploying its system at Walmart Canada’s $118M fulfillment. warehouse. The funds will be used to grow its team and ramp up production.

Caribou Raises $115M Led By Goldman Sachs. Caribou is an auto fintech company whose mission is to help people take control of their car payments. Auto lending is the fastest-growing consumer credit market in the US, with total auto debt having doubled to roughly $1.5T in little more than 10 years. The funds will be used to grow its team and accelerate product development.

Inspiration Mobility Raises $215M. Inspiration Mobility is a sustainable infrastructure platform dedicated to accelerating the electrification of transportation. Investors include Macquarie Asset Management, Ferrovial, and ArcLight Capital Partners. The funds will be used to accelerate its work electrifying commercial fleets.

Flink Acquires Cajoo. Flink, a German-based rapid delivery startup has acquired its French-based competitor, Cajoo. The acquisition enables Flink to expand its footprint in France. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it has valued Flink at over $5B.

Joby Aviation Acquires Avionyx. Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing eVTOL for commercial passenger service has acquired Avionyx, an aerospace software engineering firm. The acquisition will enable Joby to accelerate aerospace software verification which is critical to meeting FAA regulations and standards. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Joby said that Avionyx will become a wholly-owned subsidiary with resources to expand its team.

John Deere Acquires Light. John Deere has acquired Light, a depth-sensing and perception technology company focused on providing automobiles with the ability to see better than humans. The acquisition moves John Deere closer to fully autonomous farming. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

SPAC Radar📡

Surf Air Mobility In $1.42B Deal With Southern Airways Corporation. Surf Air is an electric aviation and air travel company. It has been involved in a series of acquisitions and partnerships, including Textron Inc, over the past year as it plans to use electrified aircraft across its network. The deal will fetch up to $467M in gross cash proceeds.

Marti In Deal with Galata Acquisition Corp. Marti is a Turkey-based eScooter and bike-sharing company. Its bikes and eScooters are used by more than 5M citizens in several cities in Turkey. The deal with Galata, who has raised $125M in a listing on the NYSE is expected to finalize by the end of the year.

Business Building 🛠️

Reserves 101. This is a good guide on reserves - at Dynamo, we reserve about 50% of our fund for follow-on. We’ve also supported companies with a bridge as we see line-of-sight of an “inflection point” even if other investors don’t. In times like these, it’s worthwhile ensuring that your rounds have investors who care and set up to lend their support.

This is Nothing like 2000. As a firm, we see macro pressures that set us up for a recession based on supply chain data and traditional indicators. That said, the world is not ending - financial markets are simply reverting to a 2018/2019 level. This is a great data point to counter claims this is like 2000.

Putting Ideas into Words. “Putting ideas into words doesn't have to mean writing, of course. You can also do it the old way, by talking. But in my experience, writing is the stricter test. You have to commit to a single, optimal sequence of words. Less can go unsaid when you don't have a tone of voice to carry meaning. And you can focus in a way that would seem excessive in conversation. I'll often spend 2 weeks on an essay and reread drafts 50 times. If you did that in conversation it would seem evidence of some kind of mental disorder. If you're lazy, of course, writing and talking are equally useless. But if you want to push yourself to get things right, writing is the steeper hill.” We’d add that putting action into words is important as a team grows - set “enough” process that affords an ability to uphold consistent excellence while offering a baseline for improvement.

Who's Hiring? 👩‍💻

Director of Business Development (Northeast) at Steam Logistics in Chattanooga, TN.

Perception Algorithm Engineer at Tangram Vision in Boulder, CO (remote ok).

Digital Marketing Specialist at Solvento in Mexico City, Mexico (remote ok).

💥 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.