SaaS-based Logistic Firm FarEye Acquires Dipper, An IoT-Driven Trucking Startup

Delhi-headquartered SaaS-based logistics firm FarEye has announced the acquisition of Delhi-based startup Dipper Technologies, an Internet of Things (IoT) platform that offers online marketplace to connect trucks (load seekers) with load (load owners).

The financials of acquisition deal were remain undisclosed however.

Founded in 2015 by Ayush Syal (IIT-Guwahati) and Suryansh Jalan (NIT-T), Dipper is an IoT-enabled online platform for freight logistics that has created a digital ecosystem connecting all relevant stakeholders on one platform platform providing visibility and predictability in freight movement. The startup had raised single round of funding from angel investor(s) in June 2016, according to data by Crunchbase.

According to Dipper's Linkein company page, it currently digitalises movement of over 1.25 Lakh tons/month of material, processes over 6 million location pings daily, has 5+ TMS integrations and 10+ 3rd party hardware integrations including partnerships with several OEMs like TATA Motors, Mahindra, etc

Post acquisition of Dipper, its co-founder Suryansh Jalan is now President of Transportation at FarEye.

FarEye, which was also founded in 2015, is a last mile SaaS-based delivery platform, servicing over 100 customers across five continents. The company has got backing from eminent investors including DHL, Indian Angel Networks and SAIF Partners, among others.

"We are now headed towards digitalising India's transportation industry and improve it to ensure on-time deliveries with reduced cost of goods movement," said Kushal Nahata, Co-founder and CEO of FarEye.

The acquisition of Dipper Technologies is in line with FarEye's growth plans to solve challenges for long-haul and multi-modal logistics.

"Shippers are losing a lot of time, money and inventory due to unpredicted freight movement. India spends about $160 billion on road logistics, twice compared to countries with an efficient transportation infrastructure," Nahata said.

"The Dipper team understood the problem really well and this understanding coupled with a very passionate team and a strong product supplemented FarEye's existing strength in supply chain industry technology," he added.

One of the biggest problems in road transportation is lack of data because of fragmented industry with multiple stakeholders. Dipper provides a solution by using a mix of IoT devices, SIM cards, smartphones and its wide network of IoT/ERP (enterprise resource planning) providers.

The location data (received from IoT ecosystem) is fed into FarEye's Machine Learning platform that then predicts estimated time of arrival in long-haul movements by learning the delays at tolls and terrains.

"We are now a strong team of 200, consulting more than 100 customers -- targeting the trillion dollar logistics and supply chain industry, globally," Nahata said.

Hyderabad's Truck Aggregator FreightBazaar Raises Pre-Series A Funding from Omphalos and ah! Ventures

Hyderabad-based FreightBazaar, which that connects Truck suppliers with Truck users online, has raised undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A round of financing led by Omphalos Ventures India along with participation of ah! Ventures, reported BWDisrupt.

FreightBazaar platform addresses the challenges of unorganized and unreliable long-haul transportation by instituting a set of technology based processes, transparent communication, and automation along with rigorous operational procedures that enable companies to continuously monitor KPIs and improve performance.

Founded in 2013 by Bhaven Shah and Ganesh Rewanwar, FreightBazaar has a unique cloud based integrated B2B freight collaboration platform that improves reliability and efficiency of freight transportation. In October, the company had completed its GPS integration which can work with any third-party GPS and launched a cashless payments card as well.

As a proven Freight Transportation Platform enables shippers and truck suppliers to manage the end-to-end transportation process including truck sourcing, freight rates negotiations, delivery tracking, payment and documentation. FreightBazaar has received validation from key customers and eco-system partners including India's top 3PL, manufacturing and supply chain companies. Companies of various sizes are using the platform to move freight of various kinds such as food, cement, chemical products, automotive components, electronics, tyres and telecom components. The platform also has a proprietary advanced Freight Intelligence analytics framework to provide various real-time decision-making and historical insights for continuous improvement of company's transport operations.

Ganesh Rewanwar, Co-founder & CEO, FreightBazaar, said: "For the past few years, we have been working tirelessly to bring much needed structure, technology, efficiency and reliability into the way long-haul transportation has been managed in India. The funding will enable us to scale up our operations, convert strong demand pipeline and expand our presence in key cities & build more automation".

Besides reducing the total cost of ownership for shippers, FreightBazaar has developed a set of tools and value-added services for supplier partners and drivers, as they are key stakeholders in the eco-system.

Mr Sagar R, Partner - Omphalos Ventures India LLP, stated "FreightBazaar has a unique integrated offering in the growing logistics space and has a strong team of seasoned professionals, giving them the ability to scale while keeping the business sustainable. We at Omphalos believe that FreightBazaar will redefine the boundaries of logistics business in India."

Giving an investor's perspective, Abhijeet Kumar, Co-Founder of ah! Ventures, said, "Indian transport market is expected to grow worth $300 billion by 2020, which in itself makes the sector a lucrative one to invest in. In addition to that, given the background of the founders and their in depth understanding of the business, this enterprise has from the very beginning started off on the best foot possible. Transport business in India, as is in any part of the world, closely related to the country's infrastructure and the social & financial condition of the people working in this sector and only a team with understanding of this fact can successfully drive a business in this sector, to the top. We at ah! Ventures see that spark in Frieghtbazaar's team and we are sure to see them being game changers in this industry."

Speaking about recent fundings in logistics tech startup in the country, recently Chennai-based logistics tech startup FreightBro has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round from Suresh Kumar, former global CIO of Bank of New York Mellon.

Last month, Bengaluru-based Mojro raised $650K in a funding round led by 1Crowd and its investor community followed by $2 million funding of Chennai-based Pando, in a seed funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners.