A sure sign of spiralling interest in asset tracking; US supply-chain software outfit project44 has raised an $80 million funding round led by UK-based investment company Generation Investment Management and Denmark-based A.P. Moller Holding, the investment arm of A.P. Moller Maersk, and parent of container shipping company Maersk Line. The round values project44 at $2.7 billion – 12 percent higher than its value after a Series F round in January, which raised $420 million, including from Thoma Bravo, TPG, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Goldman Sachs and TPG contributed to the latest round, as well, joined by French shipping company CMA CGM, plus Emergence Capital, Chicago Ventures, Sapphire, 8VC, Sozo Ventures, and Omidyar Technology Ventures. Chicago-based project44 has booked $44 million in recurring revenue (ARR) in 2022, bringing its total booked ARR for the year to-date to $134 million, 70 percent higher year-over-year. It claims net revenue retention of 127 percent and 358 new customers so far in 2022, including Energizer, Anheuser-Busch InBev Europe, Foot Locker, and Veyer.
The firm claims to have 1,200 customers, in total. It achieved unicorn status, with a value of $1.2 billion, at the start of 2021. It has just introduced a new master proposition, called Movement, which consolidates the entire project44 product suite, including all its self-developed and bought-in capabilities, into a single platform. The firm has acquired at least three firms last year, including Austin-based last-mile delivery-tech provider Convey for $255 million, as well as Ocean Insights and ClearMetal.
The Movement platform, and the project44 shtick, is to provide “complete order-level visibility across all modes globally, including multimodal estimates, from raw material to consumer door”. The firm said in a statement: “[Movement] provides insights and workflow capabilities end-to-end — before, during, and after transit. Everyone in the supply chain can use it, regardless of role, and it can deliver data to any person or system. The intuitive interface and unified APIs simplify issue resolution, and Movement enables seamless, data-driven operations.”
As such, it goes way beyond just new-fangled IoT data inputs. It continued: “Movement has the largest network of connected carriers, logistics service providers, shippers, technology providers and consumers in the industry and can create connections for those who are not already part of the network faster than any competitor. project44 also has the most robust dataset and the most sophisticated data science technology in the sector and provides the greatest breadth, depth and quality of visibility available anywhere.”
The new funding will drive certain key initiatives, it said, including measuring and mitigating supply chain emissions globally, across all modes of transportation. It quoted Accenture in a press statement, that 60 percent of global emissions comes from “supply chains”. Most supply chain emissions are categorised as so-called ‘Scope 3’ indirect emissions, from activities and assets not owned or controlled by the company. Only 16 percent of companies currently measure their Scope 3 emissions at an advanced level according to Accenture.
The plan is for project44 to use its windfall to build a system for measuring Scope 3 supply chain emissions across all regions and modes of transportation. “Emissions visibility will also prepare project44’s customers to meet new carbon reporting requirements under International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2023 and the European Union’s proposed corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD), which calls for companies to measure and report scope 3 emissions,” it said.
Jett McCandless, founder and chief executive at project44, said: “This latest round of funding will accelerate our ability to connect all parties across the supply chain ecosystem and deliver the highest quality supply chain and emissions visibility data to our shipper, freight forwarder and LSP customers. With these data feeds, our customers are able to outperform their competitors by managing inventory better, delivering an exceptional customer experience and building a more predictable and resilient supply chain. We will continue to deliver incredible value for our customers, no matter what challenges or opportunities 2023 brings.”
