🚚Welcome Cargado, the tech startup revolutionizing the U.S.-Mexico cross-border logistics.

Feb 15, 2024

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—Rodolfo, Enrique, Cecy, and Bernardo.

💡If you know of any startup that is also committed to #reshapingmobility by being more efficient, safer, and environmentally friendly reach us here.

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Welcome Cargado!

We initially connected with Matt Silver in 2020 when we invested in Forager, a cross-border digital freight broker he led, later acquired by Arrival Logistics. Over the past three years, we've cultivated a strong relationship with Matt since we both share the same passion for mobility and the US-Mexico market, which we both call home.

We are very excited to support him and his new venture, Cargado, an early-stage tech startup committed to simplifying the complexities of freight movement across the U.S.-Mexico border and creating a more efficient, connected supply chain.

As nearshoring fuels an explosive surge in trade between the U.S. and Mexico, Cargado is developing software to streamline the entire cross-border process. In the past decade alone, trade between the United States and Mexico has experienced remarkable growth, expanding by 58%, from $493 billion in 2012 to $779 billion in 2022.

We're thrilled to back Matt, a serial founder with over +10 years of experience in the field, and his team on this transformative journey to reshape cross-border logistics.

Portfolio news

⚡ Congratulations to Deftpower for securing funding from 4impact Capital. Existing investors, including Twickelborg, Cosmic Cat, Rethink Ventures, Koolen Industries, and ourselves, also participated in the funding round. The use of these funds will be to accelerate the expansion of their AI-supported EV charging platform in the next two years.

⚡ Meet the all-new Joyride Garage — a ‘faster, better, stronger’ version of our global shared mobility e-commerce platform. With this upgrade, Joyride Garage has evolved beyond being a micromobility vehicle shop to become a global B2B marketplace that offers a wide range of products and services for all things new mobility.

⚡ Kudos to the Deftpower team for closing a partnership with Edenred UTA Mobility. The Deftpower interoperable network is one of the largest in the world, allowing Edenred UTA Mobility to guarantee customers an ever-expanding charging network that currently comprises over 35,000 charging points in Italy belonging to 38 different Charging Point Operators.

Interesting Reads

🔍 Mexico seeks ambitious rail project to compete with The Panama Canal

With drought at the Panama Canal and conflicts in the Red Sea and other global shipping lanes disrupting trade, officials in Mexico predict a golden opportunity for the country’s $2.8 billion Isthmus of Tehuantepec’s Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT) project—a 188-mile rail corridor capable of handling substantial cargo volumes by 2033.

Mexican authorities are optimistic about the CIIT project's potential to turn Mexico into a nexus of worldwide trade. They highlight the strategic geographic advantage of the region, being the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean in the country. Oliver Contla, the trade and economy director for the Mexican Embassy in Germany, recently blogged on LinkedIn. “By leveraging its geographic advantage, Mexico has the potential to become a major logistics hub, serving not only North America but the global economy.”

Global logistics operators are skeptical about the CIIT's potential to replace the Panama Canal. They highlight that logistical challenges and infrastructure limitations, such as the longer distance of the rail route compared to the Panama Canal, could be underestimated. Pawan Joshi, an executive at e2open, a supply chain software provider, emphasized that for the CIIT project to serve as a viable complement to the Panama Canal, coordination among stakeholders and investment in technology is crucial.

Despite the skepticism, there is acknowledgment that the CIIT project could provide an alternative route during trade disruptions. Joshi emphasizes the need for cooperation between countries like Mexico, the U.S., and others, as well as between shippers and port facilities, to optimize shipping and transportation routes globally.

In conclusion, Mexico's CIIT project represents a bold attempt to capitalize on shifting dynamics in global trade and establish itself as a significant player in the international shipping industry. While challenges remain, particularly in infrastructure and coordination, there is potential for the project to offer a viable alternative to traditional shipping routes, especially during times of disruption.

Some deals we found interesting

🚀 Alt Mobility, a New Delhi startup whose platform helps businesses manage their commercial electric vehicle fleets, raised a $6 million round consisting of equity and debt. The deal was co-led by Shell Ventures, Eurazeo, EV2 Ventures, and Twynam, with UC Inclusive, Piper Serica, Pitchright, and LetsVenture also contributing. (18.Jan.2024)

🚀 Carmoola, a London startup that provides car financing via an app, raised a $19.7 million Series B round. Investors included QED Investors, VentureFriends, InMotion Ventures, AlleyCorp, and u.ventures. (16.Ene.2024)

🚀 Cityswift, a Galway-based transport data company has raised €7 million in funding to support its expansion plans. The round led by Gresham House Ventures brings to €13 million the total amount raised by the company to date. (1.Feb.2024)

🚀 Daytrip, a London, U.K.-based provider of door-to-door car transfers, raised $10 million in Series B funding. Taiwania Capital led the round and was joined by Euroventures, J&T Ventures, and N1. (23.Jan.2024)

🚀 Digital Infrastructure Inc, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based a startup specializing in decentralized physical infrastructure networks, raised $11.5 million in Series A funding. CoinFund led the round, which had additional participation from Slow Ventures, ConsenSys Mesh, Borderless Capital, among others. (16.Jan.2024)

🚀 Energy Source, a São Paulo startup that is focused on the repair, reuse, and recycling of lithium batteries, raised a $1.2 million round. InMotion Ventures was the deal lead. (2.Feb.2024)

🚀 FLEXeCHARGE, a Denmark-based provider of load and energy management services in the e-mobility sector, raised seed funding from Greencode Ventures, Link Capital and Vireo Ventures. Its technology allows chargers to be integrated into one load management platform, enabling charge point operators to aggregate demand for their entire portfolio of charging. (9.Jan.2024)

🚀 Guided Energy, a Parisian startup focusing on the optimization of EV fleet management, has raised $5.2 million in an investment round co-led by Sequoia and Dynamo Ventures. (7.Feb.2024)

🚀 Heex, a Paris based startup whose platform assists in processing and analyzing large volumes of data generated by autonomous vehicles, raised a $6.5 million seed round from Shift Invest, Karista, and Techstars. The company has raised a total of $10 million. (23.Jan.2024)

🚀 Kusari, a Ridgefield, CT-based software supply chain security startup, raised $6 million in a Seed funding round co-led by J2 Ventures and Glasswing Ventures, with participation from Unusual Ventures, bringing the total amount raised to date to $8 million. (18.Jan.2024)

🚀 Land Moto, a Cleveland startup that builds electric motorbikes, raised a $3 million round from Nunc Coepi Ventures. The company has raised a total of $10 million. (17.Jan.2024)

🚀 Lightship, a San Francisco based startup which builds all-electric RVs, has secured a $34 million Series B co-led by Obvious Ventures and Prelude Ventures. (17.Jan.2024)

🚀 Monta, a Copenhagen-based startup building an operating platform for EV ecosystem players, announced it raised a Series B round at €80 million. The round was co-led by Energize Capital, GreenPoint Partners, and Denmark’s state-backed Export and Investment Fund and drew the participation of existing investors. (23.Jan.2024)

🚀 Peripass, a Belgian logistics SaaS scale-up company announced it has secured €7.5 million in funding to accelerate its global expansion, the round was led by Welvaartfonds. (2.Feb.2024)

🚀 Project 3 Mobility, a Croatian developer of an autonomous urban mobility system closed a €100 million Series A from investors including Tasaru Mobility Investments, Neurone and Elaf Auto. (5.Feb.2024)

🚀 River, an India's electric scooter startup, raised a $40 million Series B led by Yamaha Motors. (6.Feb.2024)

🚀 Soly, a Dutch company that sells and leases solar energy systems, batteries, and charging stations to consumers and businesses, raised a $32.6 million round led by ArcTern Ventures, with Fifth Wall and previous investors Shell Ventures and ABP also anteing up. (15.Jan.2024)

🚀 Starship Technologies, a startup out of Estonia that operates in the delivery robotics space, has raised $90 million in funding led Plural and Iconical. (5.Feb.2024)

🚀 Trojan Energy, a seven-year-old startup based in Aberdeen, Scotland, that provides on-street EV charging, raised a £26 million round. BGF and previous investor Scottish National Investment Bank were the deal leads. (18.Jan.2024)

🚀 Turbi, a Brazilian car rental platform raised a ~US$30.5 million round from ARC Capital also participating Reag Investimentos and Clave Capital. (11.Jan.2023)

🚀 VEMO, a Mexican company that integrates vehicles, charging infrastructure, technology, and a data intelligence platform to enable management of the clean mobility ecosystem announced a strategic capital partnership of up to US$60 million with Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC) (9.Feb.2024)