Logistics Startup Locus Raises $50 Mn In Series C Funding

Logistics automation and decision-making platform Locus, today announced that it has raised $50 Mn in Series C funding led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. The round also saw participation from Qualcomm Ventures LLC and existing investors Tiger Global and Falcon Edge. Noted angel investors Amrish Rau, CEO of Pine Labs, Kunal Shah, CEO of CRED, Raju Reddy, founder of Sierra Atlantic, and Deb Deep Sengupta, former President and  MD, SAP South Asia, also participated in the round.

 Locus will be using the funds towards improving geographical reach and building its research and development team to expand the product line.

 “Quality and patient capital allows us to focus on path-breaking research and development, helping us deliver exceptional long-term value to our customers, over incremental improvements. We will be recruiting more PhDs in our data science team and are looking to double our patents by 2022,” said Nishith Rastogi, CEO, Locus.

Launched in 2015 by BITS Pilani and IIT alumni — Nishith Rastogi and Geet Garg, Bengaluru-based Locus works with location intelligence and geospatial data, helping businesses gain insights into their operational parameters. The logistics startup, which works with hyperlocal delivery firms, ecommerce companies and other logistics businesses, believes that homegrown solutions will make more financial sense for startups.

With this new round, the company is reportedly valued at $300 Mn.

It uses deep machine learning and proprietary algorithms to offer smart supply chain solutions to customers. The company claims that its solutions have resulted in $150 Mn+ savings in logistics costs, 70 Mn+ kilometer reductions in distance traveled, and 17 Mn+ kilograms reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for clients across sectors like e-commerce, retail, e-grocery, consumer packaged goods/FMCG, home services, home deliveries, 3PL, transportation, and B2B distribution.

Locus has been on an expansion spree in the Americas, bolstering its leadership with industry veterans such as Walter Heil, Senior Vice President, Business (Americas), and Michael D. Parmett, Vice President, Customer Success. Heil previously worked at Project44 and BluJay, while Parmett was a part of 3GTMS and Manhattan Associates. Locus works with top clients across North America, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Indian subcontinent. It has offices in the USA, the UK, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Germany.

“We are now looking to support our customers with a global footprint. Other than the geographies we are already present in, we are also investing heavily in Latin America and aggressively building our presence there,” added Rastogi. 

Locus competes with other tech-enabled logistics startups like Shiprocket, Pidge, Shadowfax, Shipway and Shipsy, most of which have raised funding in the recent months. Locus had last raised series B funding of $22 Mn from the likes of hedge fund Falcon Edge and Tiger Global in 2019. The latest round takes its funding to $78.8 Mn.

The logistics market in India is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% between 2019 and 2025. At present, the draft national logistics policy is under works and is expected to bring down India’s expenditure on logistics to 9% of GDP from the existing 14%.