Freight News:
Plug and Play raises $25.5M for new supply chain fund
Accelerator firm Plug and Play announced Tuesday the closing of its $25.5 million venture capital fund, Plug and Play Supply Chain Fund I LP. The firm plans to use the funds to continue investing in supply chain technologies, particularly in series A to C startups.
“Historically we’ve been successfully investing from our family office in pre-seed and seed-stage startups, but now with this new fund, we will also be able to invest in Series A, B and C startups,” said Mike Zayonc, founder of Plug and Play Supply Chain and partner of Plug and Play’s Supply Chain Fund. “This is an enormous opportunity for us to invest in global startups going through our supply chain innovation programs currently operating in Arkansas, Silicon Valley, Hamburg, Savannah and Toronto. Many of the best startups that go through our program are at the later growth stages as they can successfully scale to the demands of our large Fortune 500 supply chain partners.”
Using its Supply Chain Innovation Platform, the accelerator firm is able to connect more than 500 of its corporation partners — like Panasonic, Walmart, Procter & Gamble and C.H. Robinson — to FreightTech startups to provide continuous innovation that will increase the corporation’s supply chain operational efficiencies.
Related: Plug and Play partners with Walmart, Tyson and J.B. Hunt on supply chain and logistics accelerator in Northwest Arkansas
While providing this connection to large supply chain partners, Plug and Play also gives these startups a quintessential launchpad to scale their products and services.
The firm’s Plug and Play Supply Chain Fund I plans to make 25 investments over the next two years, focusing on FreightTech segments like warehouse automation, e-commerce logistics, last-mile delivery and sustainability initiatives, making investments in companies similar to those in Plug and Play’s current portfolio like Wareclouds, Repowr, Lula and FleetOperate.
The new fund is supported by top-tier limited partners, including anchor investors RZC Investments, the investment firm founded by the grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, Steuart Walton and Tom Walton.
Plug and Play contributed roughly 10% of the fund’s total capital.
“We continue to be impressed with the flywheel Plug and Play has built to identify, validate and invest in category-defining startups across the globe. We look forward to collaborating with the Plug and Play team, alongside an impressive group of limited partners, to invest in transformational supply chain businesses both in Northwest Arkansas and internationally,” said Donald Huffner, vice president of RZC Investments.
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Source: freightwaves - Plug and Play raises $25.5M for new supply chain fund
Editor: Grace Sharkey