OpenTug raises $3.1M to grow marine operator network

Marine logistics software provider OpenTug announced Friday it has raised $3.1 million in a seed round led by Entrada Ventures with participation by SpringTime Ventures and Stout Street Capital to enhance its technology, expand its sales initiatives and grow its network of United States marine operators.

Since its founding in 2019, the company has raised $3.15 million, including an initial seed round led by SeaChange Fund in 2023. Its most recent round has valued the company at $10.1 million, according to Pitchbook.

The problem

The company was founded by CEO Jason Aristides, COO Mike Baldwin, who previously worked at Amazon Web Services, and CTO Luciano de la Iglesia, who had worked for Microsoft as a data scientist.

In an interview with MarineLog, Aristides explained that in his work at logistics provider Foss and Curtin Maritime, he found the company was continuously moving empty barges past ports that could greatly use the capacity, but due to a lack of visibility, they did not realize the available capacity was nearby.

“No one knew of the opportunity or when there were 45,000-plus empty barge sailings while the U.S. was in a capacity crisis,” he told the media outlet.

With OpenTug, shippers can request quotes from the visible capacity, terminal operators can access more customers, and vessel operators can deliver a more modern booking experience while adding revenue from shippers they would have missed in the past.

According to a company blog post, OpenTug has access to over 40% of barge capacity within its platform.

Seattle-based OpenTug says that in 2023 it serviced over 3 million tons of marine cargo across 25,000 miles of United States marine highways. 

The platform can be custom-branded and includes customer relationship management tools and API integrations, live chat and service tracking, bill management tools, reporting solutions, and customer dashboards. Shippers can filter is marketplace by commodity, capacity and port capabilities. They can book barge sailings or request quotes, compare quotes, communicate shipment details, and trace and track all on one platform, according to the company website.

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Source: freightwaves - OpenTug raises $3.1M to grow marine operator network
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