The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances tech start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF now has about 1.4 billion euros under management. Its team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts support young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected about 5 billion euros of capital into the HTGF portfolio via more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, HTGF has already successfully sold shares in more than 170 companies. Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries. Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.

HTGF | High-Tech Gruenderfonds

The MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein mbH was founded in 1994 on the initiative of the state government of Schleswig-Holstein as a regional investment company. MBG Schleswig-Holstein is a full member of the Bundesverband Deutscher Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaften eV (BVK). The task of MBG is to strengthen the equity capital base of medium-sized companies in Schleswig-Holstein, thereby also improving the conditions for raising debt capital. As a rule, MBG participates in so-called silent participations in medium-sized companies. In individual cases, however, it also engages itself in the form of open participations. 19 employees of MBG currently serve more than 500 companies and a portfolio of more than 100 million euros.

MBG Schleswig-Holstein

Loggerhead Ventures is an equity fund focusing on mission-driven deep-tech firms based on regional innovation ecosystems.

Loggerhead Ventures

SmartLoC

SmartLoC is a fintech company that provides trading solutions, IoT baked tracking, payment solutions, and supply chain management services.

SmartLoC, founded in 2012, is a German startup that has developed a digital B2B payment solution for international trade. The company's cloud platform aims to streamline and digitize cross-border transactions by leveraging advanced technologies such as IoT, blockchain, and AI. SmartLoC's system provides businesses with a secure and efficient way to manage international payments, offering features like collaborative contract creation, shipment monitoring, and trusted payment solutions.

The Most Trusted Name in Locks

Smartloc Avis: Notre avis détaillé sur l'agence de gestion locative

SmartLoC and Litus announce strategic partnership to revolutionise cargo insurance with IoT data

SmartLoC Raises €1.8M In Seed Funding

Smartloc

SMARTLOCK

Empowering efficiency, visibility and collaboration throughout supply networks

Supply Chain Tech

Hamburg-based SmartLoC secures €1.8 million to streamline international trade B2B payments

SmartLoC, founded in 2012, is a German startup that has developed a digital B2B payment solution for international trade. The company's cloud platform aims to streamline and digitize cross-border transactions by leveraging advanced technologies such as IoT, blockchain, and AI. SmartLoC's system provides businesses with a secure and efficient way to manage international payments, offering features like collaborative contract creation, shipment monitoring, and trusted payment solutions.
The platform allows users to create export or import contracts with trading partners using collaboration tools and standard templates for different regions and product categories. This approach helps avoid inconsistent and time-consuming email exchanges. SmartLoC's IoT-enabled monitoring system provides real-time data on shipments, allowing for enhanced risk management and proactive event analysis. The company's solution has been noted to help businesses reduce CO2 emissions and logistics costs for shipments.

Project44 is a technology company that specializes in supply chain visibility and logistics connectivity solutions. The company’s platform “Movement” connects shippers, carriers, and logistics service providers to provide real-time visibility of the location and status of shipments. It also offers insights and connectivity across borders, helping businesses manage complex, multi-country logistics. This enables businesses to track and manage the movement of goods and shipments from the point of origin to the final destination.Since its inception, the company has expanded globally by acquiring visibility providers such as GateHouse Logistics, Ocean Insights, ClearMetal, and Convey. It has also built a carrier network with over 238,000 carriers, as of October 2023. In May 2023, the company reported that its platform tracked more than 1 billion unique shipments annually for over 1,300 brands, which included companies from industries such as manufacturing, automotive, retail, life sciences, and chemical and gas.In April 2023, Project44 launched “Movement GPT,” a generative AI assistant for supply chain. This feature allows users to interact within the Movement platform in natural language to track shipments and identify supply chain risks.In August 2024, project44 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32957">launched</a> Emissions Monitoring, a new feature within its Movement platform. This tool helps shippers, carriers, and logistics service providers measure and report Scope 3 emissions across all transportation modes to improve sustainability and compliance. Earlier In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31195">July 2024</a>, it introduced enhanced electronic bill of lading capabilities across LTL industry. Also, in the same month it <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31686">launched</a> expanded capabilities and reach for its Appointment Management product to offer a centralized view of facility appointments, enabling shippers to monitor trailer ETAs against scheduled appointments in real-time and proactively manage exceptions.In 2021, Project44 reported an annual recurring revenue of more than USD 100 million. In November 2022, the company was valued at USD 2.7 billion. In September 2024, it also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33426">opened</a> a new office in Bengaluru, India, which will support its global expansion and serve as one of the company's Centers of Excellence.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2023, the company's customers included leading brands such as Nestlé, Convoy, DHL, Uber Freight, and Bayer.In July 2024, project44 expanded its presence in China by launching its Movement platform in the market, making the advanced user interface available to all users in China. The expansion leveraged a new partnership with Baidu, a China-based multinational tech leader, to enhance visibility for customers operating in China. As part of the partnership, project44's over-the-road (OTR) maps in China will be powered by Baidu, improving the company's ability to provide real-time, transparent information to customers.In May 2023, the company entered into a partnership with asset intelligence company, Nexxiot, to enable the delivery of real-time network insights and IoT-centric conditional and location monitoring. Further, in January 2024, the company partnered with Lenzing Group, a specialty fiber producer, to enhance Lenzing Group's ocean shipment visibility with a focus on carbon emissions monitoring. The collaboration involves the creation of an updated real-time shipment visibility tool that collects carbon emissions data at the shipment and container levels.

Project44

Supertrace offers a web-based platform to enable transparency and traceability across supply chains. The company assigns digital identities for physical commodities—a digital code that can be scanned using iOS or Android phones—and stores them in a blockchain database to make them connected and verifiable. This lets users obtain end-to-end visibility of product movements and enables them to manage fraud, ​​identify inefficiencies, and authenticate products in the supply chain while building trust with connected stakeholders.The platform features both software and hardware components and comes as a “plug-and-play” solution that can easily be integrated with existing ERP solutions and third-party systems. As of October 2023, the company claimed that the platform had the capacity to track over 300 million products per year.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2023, the company’s platform was used by over 60 companies across the world.

Supertrace

Exiger provides software and tech-enabled tools to manage supply chains through AI-powered solutions. These solutions focus on providing visibility across supply chains and mitigating risks in strictly regulated industries, critical infrastructure companies, defense contractors, financial institutions, and government agencies. They also aim to monitor regulatory compliance and combat financial crime.The company's product portfolio includes solutions such as Supply Chain Explorer, SDX, ExploreRx, and PAC, which are developed to provide visibility across supply networks. Also, its products, such as DDIQ, Screen IQ, and Insight 3PM, are aimed at facilitating risk-screening processes and managing business relationships. In May 2023, the company acquired Ion Channel, adding a platform to its product portfolio to facilitate supply chain risk management.In September 2023, Exiger launched 1Exiger, its new supply chain platform that integrates and provides access to Exiger's products—DDIQ, Insight 3PM, Ion Channel, SDX, and Supply Chain Explorer. The company planned to scale up the platform over the following decade and developed a long-term roadmap to introduce new capabilities.The company operates in the US, Canada, London, Bucharest, Singapore, and Australia. As of October 2023, the company had more than 800 employees across its global offices.In August 2024, the Exiger <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32429">acquired</a> XSB, a logistics intelligence platform with a database of over 100 million parts and 400 million parts attributes, for an undisclosed sum. Through this acquisition, Exiger aimed to enhance its capabilities in depot maintenance, category management, parts obsolescence, parts alternatives, price defensibility, and supply chain optimization. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31249">July 2024</a>, Exiger also acquired Versed AI, a company specializing in product breakdown technology, to enhance AI-driven supply chain visibility. Also, in the same month the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32093">acquired</a> aDolus Technology Inc., a software supply chain risk visibility platform, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition allowed Exiger to integrate aDolus' ability to generate software bills of material (SBOMs) and analyze binary for software provenance. This will extend Exiger's Ion Channel platform for SBOM analysis to binaries without SBOMs, device firmware, operational technology (OT), and IoT, addressing the urgent need for organizations to verify and secure operational technology and software providers in an increased cyber threat environment. In 2021, it was reported that Exiger had achieved in excess of 100% compound annual growth in software license revenue worldwide over the previous four years.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2023, Exiger was providing its services to 550 Global customers across the world, including 150 companies featured in the Fortune 500 list and over 50 government agencies.In May 2024, Exiger partnered with Kharon, a leader in risk analytics, to enhance global supply chain security efforts. As part of the collaboration, Exiger’s AI-powered supply chain management platform will be combined with Kharon’s insight into supply chain risk to provide a robust and dynamic risk analysis framework.Earlier in March 2024, Exiger entered a strategic partnership with aDolus Technology Inc., an authority in software intelligence for critical infrastructure. The partnership enables Exiger to incorporate aDolus' software into its supply chain platform. This integration will allow for the analysis of firmware and industrial control software for potential vulnerabilities. This collaboration allows both companies to offer improved visibility and risk assessment capabilities in operational technology to their Federal Government and corporate clients.

Exiger

<div>
 
 Chain.io offers a cloud-based integration platform that connects shippers and freight companies across the global supply chain. The company&rsquo;s pre-built adaptors enable shippers and freight companies to integrate their legacy systems with modern API-based SaaS tools to provide them with visibility across their supply networks to efficiently manage freight.
 
 
 
 
 Beyond mere integration, the platform automates freight operations with pre-configured plugins built to expedite the booking, moving, and delivery of freight. This includes automation focused on PO management, securing freight insurance, sending advanced shipment notices (ASN), and invoice processing as well as improving the overall efficiencies in agent, carrier, and customs operations. The platform also enables advanced insights through the aggregation of data from multiple sources into a centralized database. The platform feeds this information into internal reporting and is populated in external dashboards to provide visibility on key operational metrics and environmental impacts.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 As of October 2023, Chain.io&rsquo;s platform was used by leading brands such as Ex Works, Janel Group, John S Conner, Magnate Worldwide, OIA Global, and Jaguar Freight Services. As of June 2022, the company claimed that 10 of the 15 world&rsquo;s largest freight forwarders were also using its platform.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In June 2022, the company raised USD 11 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Fontinalis Partners and High Alpha. The funding was aimed at expanding the company&rsquo;s network of native integrations to the industry&rsquo;s supply chain technology platforms and to expand its geographical reach across North America, Europe, and Asia.
 
 
 
</div>

Chain.io

<div>
 
 Overhaul offers a device-agnostic supply chain visibility and risk monitoring solution to monitor and manage in-transit shipments. The company&rsquo;s technology-driven platform provides real-time visibility into the transportation of high-value cargo and critical shipments, ensuring the integrity of the supply chain. In addition, the platform provides insights using AI-powered predictive analytics for risk monitoring, enabling its users to mitigate potential risks, such as theft, damage, or disruptions. The platform also offers solutions to simplify compliance and documentation processes and assist in managing regulatory requirements, inspections, and certifications in the transportation industry.
 
 
 
 
 Overhaul&rsquo;s products and solutions are geared toward global industries such as pharmaceutical and healthcare, technology, logistics, and food and beverage. According to the company, in 2023, it is expected to track more than USD 1 trillion in shipments in transit.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 As of October 2023, the company was offering its products to leading brands such as Microsoft, Dyson, GoPro, Bristol Myers Squibb, and J.B. Hunt.
 
 
 
 
 In April 2023, the company partnered with MCA Connect to offer a comprehensive set of integrated solutions aimed at helping organizations achieve end-to-end supply chain visibility and automate processes.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In March 2023, the company raised USD 73 million as new growth capital. The funding consisted of USD 38 million in equity and USD 35 million in non-dilutive debt. The round was led by growth equity investor Edison Partners. The proceeds were expected to be used for global expansion, product development initiatives, and to fund the acquisition of security services provider SensiGuard.
 
 
 
</div>

Overhaul

Platforms that provide real-time visibility into the movement, location, condition of products, and environment as they move through the supply chain.

Information sharing and collaborative planning platforms that enable communication, coordination, and collaboration among supply chain partners.

Platforms that facilitate the tracing and verification of products or components throughout the supply chain, from origin to consumer.

Platforms that provide vendor risk intelligence to facilitate vendor due diligence and onboarding, compliance monitoring, contract management, and cybersecurity assessments.

Platforms that help organizations optimize supply chain processes through demand, supply, operations, and scenario planning.

Supply chain tech is frequently depedent on IoT for connecting different links of the supply chain

Supply chain tech contributes towards sustainability through efforts to reduce waste, loss and emissions through improving supply chain operations and accuracy.

Uses blockchain to create transparent, and secure records of transactions and product movements

The platforms facilitate tracing and tracking of products through the supply chain

SmartLoC

Sources

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless