Microsoft’s venture arm leads $25m round for logistics AI startup FarEye

M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, has led a US$25 million series D round for India’s FarEye, a software-as-a-service platform that offers predictive logistics intelligence for businesses.

Eight Roads Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, and existing investor SAIF Partners also participated in the round.

FarEye’s founding team (from left): Gautam Kumar, Gaurav Srivastava, and Kushal Nahata / Photo credit: FarEye

Founded in 2013, FarEye enables its customers to orchestrate, track, and optimize their logistics operations in both business-to-customer and business-to-business segments. Its platform digitizes third-party logistics carriers’ operations and integrates with external systems for predictive visibility.

With machine learning, the company said it can help enterprises shrink delivery time by up to 27%, increase courier productivity by up to 15%, and eliminate risks by up to 57%.

FarEye will use the investment to enhance the platform’s predictive capabilities, boost partnerships, and expand to new markets. It also looks to grow its teams in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the US, FarEye CEO Kushal Nahata said.

The company is present across 20 countries and serves more than 150 retailers, consumer packaged goods companies, and logistics providers, such as DHL, Amway, Dominos, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, and Hilti.

To help businesses reach their customers during the pandemic, FarEye said it’s offering its product Serve at zero fee. Serve enables contactless delivery of groceries and other essential goods through a wallet-enabled app. There’s also an app for drivers to ensure real-time communication with customers.

The company previously raised US$3.5 million in a series A round from SAIF Partners in 2016, followed by a US$9.5 million series C raise from Deutsche Post DHL Group in 2018.