Portcast snags US$6.5 million Series A funding
The funds will be used to accelerate its product innovation and for leveraging AI
SINGAPORE-HEADQUARTERED Portcast announced on Monday (Nov 18) that it secured US$6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital.
The round’s participants included new investors such as Hearst Ventures and Signal Ventures, alongside Portcast’s existing investors such as Wavemaker Partners, TMV and Innoport.
Portcast operates a platform of the same name that provides transportation visibility for supply chains in the international transportation sector.
The platform provides businesses with live updates on freight movements, estimated arrival timings of cargo and risk management tools, to allow its customers to plan their schedules, better mitigate risks and avoid additional costs.
Its mission is to make supply chains more resilient to disruptions – such as adverse weather, congestion and policy changes – and it utilises technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to do so.
“With this investment, Portcast is well-positioned to deliver on its mission of making global trade more resilient through actionable data,” the company said.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
It added that the funding would accelerate its product innovation – especially in the area of leveraging generative AI to improve risk management, transport planning and invoice auditing capabilities.
Portcast’s founder and chief executive Nidhi Gupta said: “Supply chain disruptions have become the norm, driving up costs for shippers and logistics service providers globally.”
Given this, she believes it is no longer sufficient to only monitor shipments, and that it should be a priority to use data and supply chain visibility to drive action through automated recommendations.
“That’s why we’re committed to building a product that uncovers risks in transport, (and) more importantly, automatically suggests actions to reduce freight costs and improve customer experience,”she said.
Head of South-east Asia investments at Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital Richard Hsu noted that Portcast taps both public and proprietary data to give its customers “accurate and explainable transportation visibility”.
The platform’s ability to transform the data that it collects from ocean carriers, airlines, vessels and ports into “practical, actionable insights” is what sets it apart, he said.
“We’re excited not only by what Portcast has already accomplished, but also by its potential to solve more challenges in global trade with its unique data approach,” he added.
Speaking of future plans for expansion, Gupta said: “Looking ahead, we’re eager to expand in Asia-Pacific and Europe, strengthening partnerships to bring our solutions to even more companies.”
Portcast’s clients include companies in the logistics sector such as AIT Worldwide Logistics, MPG Group and Otentic Customs, as well as pump manufacturing company Wilo Group and grocery store FreshCo.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
