SG commodities intelligence startup bags $379,500 seed round

Navigate Commodities, a Singapore-based commodities intelligence startup, closed a S$541,000 (US$379,500) seed funding round.

The round was joined by Stellar James Management and Palmm.

Navigate Commodities co-founders Atilla Widnell (left) and Lee Gao Rui. / Photo credit: Navigate Commodities

Navigate Commodities’ platform digitalizes end-to-end supply chain monitoring, providing more accurate real-time information using AI. This also makes its data more dynamic than traditional models, which provide monthly reports.

Navigate Commodities co-founder and managing director Atilla Widnell said the firm aims to level the playing field and significantly lower the barriers of entry for smaller players to the global commodities market by providing services at around 10% of the typical market rate.

He added that though their initial target market consisted of similar-sized businesses, the client pool now includes industry majors like The Singapore Exchange, United Overseas Bank, Goldman Sachs, and BNP Paribas.

The new funds will be spent on upgrading the satellite data and imagery capabilities and hiring new staff in remote sensing engineers, geospatial analysts, and AI and machine learning.

The startup was co-founded in 2020 by Widnell and Gao Rui Lee, generating a revenue of US$280,500 in its first year while still being bootstrapped.

Navigate Commodities also scored commitments of between US$70,100 to US$140,200 at the end of Q4 2022 from a Singapore-based trust. That funding was being spent on expanding Navigate Commodities’ monitoring capabilities on supply chains of battery metals, renewables, agricultural, hydrogen, and energy, the company said.

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Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.43