Tiger Global leads $36 mn funding round in supply chain startup Wiz Freight
2 min read . Updated: 31 Mar 2022, 04:05 PM IST
Premium- Wiz Freight said it plans to accelerate its technology research and development and global expansion into Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa with the new investment
Radar Ventures Pvt Ltd, which runs a full-stack digital cross-border supply chain platform Wiz Freight, has raised ₹275 crore ($36.6 million) in a mix of equity and debt led by Tiger Global Management, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The round also saw participation from Axilor Ventures, Foundamental, Arali Ventures, Stride Ventures and Alteria Capital. Angel investors Ramakant Sharma, Co-founder of LivSpace and Daniel Richner, Chairman of M+R Spedag Group, a Swiss-based logistics conglomerate also participated in the funding round. The company did not disclose the break-up of equity and debt, but claimed that the equity investment marked the largest Series A funding in Indian logistics.
Wiz Freight said it plans to accelerate its technology research and development and global expansion into Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa with the new investment. The startup said it plans to launch operations in 15 other countries in these geographies, having its headquarters located in Singapore and Dubai.
The company said it is also to looking to double its headcount as it plans to open two new tech research and development centers in Bengaluru and Singapore by the end of 2022 where it will carry further development of its AI and ML (machine learning), blockchain & IoT (internet of things) capabilities to offer intelligent and connected cross-border shipping to its customers.
Founded in August 2020 in Chennai by serial entrepreneurs Ramkumar Govindarajan and Ramkumar Ramachandran, Wiz Freight enables exporters and importers in emerging markets to book and manage their cross-border shipments on its tech platform. Wiz Freight said its AI (artificial intelligence)-powered platform offers instant capacity discovery, dynamic pricing, optimized routing, door to door tracking and automated document workflows saving countless hours for shippers.
Wiz Freight claims to serve over 1,500 enterprise and mid-market customers across India, Southeast Asia and Middle East. The company also claimed that it has doubled its revenue sequentially. Wiz Freight said its customer roster includes listed companies like Adani, Mahindra, Tata, Aditya Birla and ITC.
Wiz Freight, which started with a single offering of ocean import solutions from China into India, said, today it offers export and import solutions via ocean and air, connecting India with major international trade locations. The company claimed to be the only digital full-stack player in the region to offer door-to-door multimodal solutions.
Wiz Freight also said it is the only digital player in the emerging markets that works directly between the carriers and shippers by adopting a full-stack execution model offering significant cost savings and operational reliability to enterprise customers. The company claimed to have a team of more than 350 people spread across over 15 locations. Wiz Freight said it has a network of more than 200 carriers and vendors. Wiz Freight has a command center in Chennai, which monitors live execution of shipments every month ensuring on-time delivery and is responsible for customer service, the company said.
Wiz Freight claimed to be profitable and said that it plans to grow its revenue by 400% in the coming year.
“Global trade is witnessing all-time high volatility in capacity and rates led by pandemic and the recent geopolitical events causing massive disruptions in supply chain planning and execution for shippers," said Ramkumar Govindarajan, Chief Executive Officer, Wiz Freight.
We’re helping customers take control of their supply chains by offering 10x shipment visibility, intelligent risk-optimized routing solutions and multi-carrier capacity offerings through our tech platform and build maximum resilience to avoid business disruptions," Govindarajan added.
