B2B Investors Target Supply Chain Friction

Not every startup in this week’s B2B Venture Capital Roundup provided full visibility into how much it raised, but more than $150 million in new funding can be confirmed for B2B startups. Investors had a particular interest in supply chain management this week, targeting startups that addressed friction in global trade including product verification, shipment tracking and compliance. But it was a B2B contract lifecycle management startup that not only raised the most funding this week, but also emerged as B2B’s latest unicorn. See all the latest funding rounds below.

Source Intelligence

Supply chain compliance firm Source Intelligence raised an undisclosed sum in its latest investment round, the company said in a press release this week. The funding will go toward the launch of its artificial intelligence platform as well as for further expansion across the European Union, the firm said, noting Source Capital Partners, Kayne Capital Partners and various local banks participated in the Round B growth capital funds investment. The firm’s technology analyzes trade documents and data from other sources to build out its supplier database to identify and address various supply chain risks. Source Intelligence has a particularly strong presence in the conflict minerals compliance space, it noted.

dtledgers

Another undisclosed funding round was announced by Singapore’s dtledgers, a blockchain startup that secured Pre-Series A funding from Walden International, the company said in a press release. The startup provides cross-border trade solutions using technology to digitize documents and trade finance processes. According to dtledgers, its technology enables businesses to wield smart contracts to streamline trade flows and ensure transparency and compliance across all trading partners. Offered as a Software-as-a-Service solution, dtledgers plans to use the funding to grow its staff and expand across Asia.

Travelstop

The pre-Series A round of $3 million for Travelstop will help the Singapore-based startup strengthen its position in the corporate travel and expense management space. Accel led the funding, Skift reported this week, while Travelstop also announced a partnership with online travel platform Traveloka to support a streamlined travel booking process for business users. Strive and existing backer SeedPlus also participated in the funding, according to reports, with the funding also going toward Travelstop’s efforts to launch a 24/7 feature to help corporate users in the event of travel disruptions like flight delays.

DUST Identity

Supply chain security and shipment tracking service DUST Identity announced $10 million in Series A funding that will go toward product development, engineering, and its go-to-market strategy, according to a press release this week. DUST Identity has developed a diamond-coated security tag it claims cannot be copied to promote security within the supply chain and strengthen trust between manufacturers and suppliers to promote product authentication. In addition to growth, DUST Identity said the investment will help it expand its customer base with a focus on the automotive, luxury goods, cosmetics, and oil and gas sectors. Investors at Kleiner Perkins led the investment round, which also saw participation from Airbus and Lockheed Martin, reports said.

Traxens

Also operating in the supply chain management space, France-based Traxens positions itself with a focus on data to connect businesses to Internet-of-Things tracking capabilities. With $22.7 million in recently-announced Series C funding — led by the Itochu Corp., Bpifrance and Supernova Invest — Traxens plans to launch its ocean and land fleet IoT tracking technologies on vessels operated by its logistics partners, and to focus on growth across Asia. Its IoT tool aims to boost visibility and traceability of shipments as they move, while connecting corporate users to Big Data analytics capabilities, a press release said.

Icertis

As the latest B2B unicorn, Icertis is positioning itself in the contract lifecycle management space to help organizations manage and promote compliance to their contracts, from vendor agreements in procurement to non-disclosure contracts and more. The company raised $115 million in its Series E funding round, announced this week, with investors at Greycroft and Premhi Invest leading the way. Existing backers B Capital Group, Cross Creek Advisors, Eight Roads, Ignition Partners, Meritech Capital Partners and PSP Growth also participated in the investment, which propelled Icertis’ valuation beyond $1 billion. Icertis said it will deploy the funding to focus on further expansion, invest in its underlying technology and explore other potential use-cases of its solutions.