Kale Logistics Raises $5 Mn From Inflexor Ventures

Mumbai-based SaaS startup Kale Logistics Technology raised its series A round of $5 Mn led by tech focussed VC fund Inflexor Ventures.

Existing investors of Kale Logistics also participated in the round. 

Kale Logistics builds enterprise grade SaaS products for the logistics industry like Next Gen Cargo Community Platforms to transform and digitise processes, enable collaboration and improve operational efficiencies

Kale Logistics  was founded in 2010 by Amar More, Vineet Malhotra, Rajesh Panicker, Narendra Kale and  Vipul Jain.

It aims to utilise the funding towards product enhancement and global business growth, by deploying the solution at additional overseas airports, ports and enterprise cargo handling customers.  

“Our community platforms for ports and airports have a huge opportunity with demand for digitization accelerating at a fast pace. We are excited about having Inflexor as our investor partner as we move forward towards the next orbit of growth,” said More.

Its vision is to reduce the complexities involved in the cargo logistics processing at airports, seaports and customs checkpoints, using their cloud-native integrated platform and ERP solutions for all stakeholders in the logistics industry. The solutions enable collaboration in real-time while providing end-to-end visibility of every process and shipment.

“Our investment in Kale Logistics fits our thesis of investing in category defining, enterprise grade, vertical SaaS products addressing the global market. The company is led by a stellar team with demonstrated capabilities of executing a global go-to-market strategy. We believe Kale Logistics will play a pivotal role in radically transforming global cross-border commerce at airports and ports led by trade facilitation reforms initiated by the UN and various countries,” said Pratip Mazumdar, Partner at Inflexor Ventures.

Since November 2020, Inflexor used its Fund II to invest in four companies including Steradian Semiconductors, PlayShifu and Vitra.ai.

“This is our first fund raise with an external investor and we are happy to partner with Inflexor because of the alignment of vision for the business and their understanding of the SaaS space. We are confident that they will add value to the company as we shift gears to a faster growth trajectory,” said Vipul Jain, chairman and cofounder, Kale Logistics.

The company’s flagship product, known as UPLIFT is a cargo community platform for airports and seaports which facilitates cross border commerce and cargo digitization.

At present, the logistics market is crowded with a lot of existing players and startups. Some of the players that are operating in this space include Cogoport, Rivigo, Shipsy, Delhivery, Blackbuck, Freightwalla among others. The logistics tech sector has produced two unicorns — Delhivery and Rivigo — as the rise of ecommerce, distribution for online platforms and hyperlocal deliveries have got the innovation and investments flowing in the sector.

Especially, since the Covid-19 pandemic, the logistics sector has risen to prominence like never before as businesses across the board have adopted these solutions. In recent times, the Indian government has recognised the need for stronger technology-led interventions for the increasingly critical logistics sector in the Economic Survey 2020-21. The survey proposed solutions for real-time monitoring of logistics infrastructure by integrating various existing solutions through blockchain.