Temasek leads $50m round of Chinese logistics startup Duckbill

Chinese logistics startup Duckbill has received US$50 million in investment led by Singapore state-backed investment firm Temasek Holdings.

Pavilion Capital, along with existing investors Future Capital, Shunwei Capital, Furong Capital, Zhuopu Capital, and Unicorn Capital Partners, also joined in the round.

The latest investment brings the total amount the company has raised to date to nearly US$100 million.

Duckbill founder and CEO Tang Hongbin / Photo credit: Duckbill

Founded in 2017, Duckbill provides container trucking transportation services, international freight forwarding, and warehousing services by using big data and AI.

The Shanghai-based company claims it takes up the largest market share in the East China region and is growing rapidly in the cities of Shenzhen and Qingdao. The fresh capital will be used for its expansion in the South China and North China markets.

The company claims to have served up to 6,000 firms to date and transported 700,000 containers by 2020.

Moving forward, Duckbill will further invest in its R&D efforts and build a transportation management system, said its founder and CEO Tang Hongbin.

Last year, the total volume of trade in Chine reached 3.2 trillion yuan (US$492.1 billion), which boosted the container logistics market, according to Shunwei Capital, which added that the container logistics market size has surpassed 1 trillion yuan (US$153.8 billion).

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.5 yuan.