Singapore logistics startup nets $3.2m in pre-series A money

Singapore-based logistics tech startup Portcast has raised US$3.2 million in a pre-series A round led by early-stage VC firm Newtown Partners.

New investors joining the round include Wavemaker Partners, TMV, and Innoport, along with existing investor SGInnovate.

Photo credit: Portcast

Launched in 2018 by former Entrepreneur First executives Nidhi Gupta and Lingxiao Xia, Portcast developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that offers real-time artificial intelligence-based visibility of shipment locations to freight forwarders and manufacturers. It also predicts the arrival times of more than 90% of ships around the world, covering the status of shipments in over 300,000 trade routes.

The new funds will boost the company’s international expansion efforts as it doubles its manpower and moves from a predictive AI to prescriptive AI approach. New product features such as order-level visibility and scenario planning are also on the horizon.

“We believe that companies with predictive visibility on cargo movements have a significantly higher preparedness to downstream planning and customer service,” said Nidhi Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Portcast.

By forecasting port statuses, the cloud-based platform can map the effects of “disruptions” like typhoons and situations like the recent Suez Canal congestion.

Research from global advisory firm Gartner shows that market growth for real-time transportation visibility platforms will be rapid, with half of “global product-centric enterprises” investing in the tech by 2023.