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Reefknot Investments launches $50 million fund to invest in logistics and supply chain startups

Reefknot Investments, a joint venture between Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign fund, and global logistics company Kuehne + Nagel, announced today the launch of a $50 million fund for logistics and supply chain startups. The firm is based in Singapore, but will look for companies around the world that are raising their Series A or B rounds.

Managing director Marc Dragon tells TechCrunch that Reefknot will serve as a strategic investor in its portfolio companies, providing them with connections to partners that include EDBI, SGInnovate, Atlantic Bridge, Vertex Ventures, PSA unBoXed, Unilever Foundry and NUS Enterprise, in addition to Temasek and Kuehne + Nagel .

Dragon, a veteran of the supply chain and logistics industry, says Reefknot plans to invest in about six to eight startups. It is especially interested in companies that are using AI or deep mind tech, digital logistics and trade finance to solve problems that range from analyzing supply chain data and making forecasts to managing the risk of financing trade transactions. Data from Gartner shows that about half of global supply chain companies will use AI, advanced analytics or the Internet of Things in their operations by 2023.

“There is a high level of expectation from vendors that because of technology, there will be new methods to do analytics and planning, and greater visibility in terms of information and product, materials and goods flowing throughout the supply chain,” says Dragon.

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Supply chain visibility is critical to a company’s operational performance improvement, according to 63% of 149 responding companies in a survey conducted by Aberdeen Group.

“Visibility is a prerequisite to supply chain agility and responsiveness,” the report states.

And it requires tracking the location of a shipment not only at the transportation level, but also at a unit and item level.

Location tracking is good protection against shipment theft or loss, but companies need a deeper level of visibility for their products, according to FedEx.

The company’s solution? The IoT-inspired SenseAware, a sensor-based logistics solution.

SBL uses sensors to detect the shipment’s environmental conditions while warehoused or in transit and sends the data – via wireless communication devices – to a management software system where the data is collected, displayed, analyzed and stored.

It is “the basis of a powerful new central nervous system for the global supply chain,” according to FedEx.

The device is meant to provide intelligence that can help enterprises coordinate and manage product, information and financial flows.

Read more at SenseAware is FedEx’s Internet of Things Response to Supply Chain Optimization

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