TCV provides capital to growth-stage private and public companies in the technology industry. It also provides management teams with data-driven insights, sector expertise, access to world-class talent, and connections with category leaders.  Founded in 1995, the Silicon Valley-headquartered firm has invested more than $14 billion in over 350 growth-stage technology companies to date. Some of its most prominent portfolio company exits include Airbnb, Facebook, Netflix, Peloton, and Zillow.

Blackstone Group is a private equity firm that invests in private equity, real estate, public debt, equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds.

Blackstone Group

RELEX Solutions

RELEX Solutions provides an integrated retail and supply chain planning system that delivers impressive results for customers around the world. Through precise demand forecasting, automated replenishment, revolutionary space planning, and assortment optimization, RELEX helps businesses plan better, sell more, and waste less however fast the market changes. Its agile technology adapts to the changing operations and processes, whether you are a fast-growing challenger or a multinational. Through its retail expertise and technology, it builds strong, enduring, award-winning partnerships with its customers. RELEX’s success is inseparable from theirs.    RELEX Solutions is trusted by leading brands including WHSmith, Morrisons, AO.com, Coop Denmark, Rossmann, and ParknShop, and has offices across North America and Europe.

<div>Based in Finland, Relex Solutions offers a cloud and AI-based platform that digitizes and automates the retail supply chain process to avoid over-ordering, and thereby reduce waste. The company&rsquo;s &ldquo;RELEX Living Retail&rdquo; platform covers various functions such as demand planning, merchandising, supply chain management, and retail operations. In terms of food waste, the platform helps food retailers decide which product to buy and when, by providing demand forecasts throughout the supply chain.&nbsp;</div>

Tech solutions for achieving global anti-wastage targets

Food Waste

<div>Based in Finland, Relex Solutions offers an AI-powered cloud-based platform that digitizes and automates the supply chain and retail planning to avoid over-ordering, and thereby reducing waste. The company&rsquo;s &ldquo;RELEX Living Retail&rdquo; platform covers various functions such as demand planning, merchandising, inventory management, supply chain management, and retail operations.&nbsp;</div>

Empowering efficiency, visibility and collaboration throughout supply networks

Supply Chain Tech

Relex Solutions

<div>
 
 Based in Finland, Relex Solutions offers a cloud and AI-based platform that digitizes and automates the retail supply chain process to avoid over-ordering, and thereby reduce waste. The company&rsquo;s &ldquo;RELEX Living Retail&rdquo; platform covers various functions such as demand planning, merchandising, supply chain management, and retail operations. In terms of food waste, the platform helps food retailers decide which product to buy and when, by providing demand forecasts throughout the supply chain.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company reported that its grocery customers have seen a reduction in food waste from 10%&ndash;40% per year alongside a 2% increase in sales and a 25%increase in profit. The company also claimed that based on its studies it had helped food retailers and distributors remove over 17 million kilograms of CO2 per year. The company&rsquo;s inventory management solutions are also stated to allow an 85% reduction in the stockout situation.
 
 
 The company operates across the US, Europe, and Asia, serving clients including Dollar Tree, M&amp;S Food, Franprix, Morrisons, PetSmart, Sephora, and Rossmann. In February 2022, the company reported that it has been able to grow its customer base to over 350 clients in 2021 and witnessed its software revenue increase 2x during the period.&nbsp;
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15736">
 January 2023
 </a>
 , the company partnered with Movista, a platform for retail execution and workforce management to harness innovation and enhance collaboration for their retail and consumer goods customers. 
 The company also partnered with MPM Products, a pet food manufacturer, to improve MPM Products' inventory planning and forecasting capabilities. 
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8609">
 February 2022
 </a>
 , the company raised EUR 500 million (~USD 568 million) in a new funding round led by Blackstone Growth (BXG) alongside other institutional investors. The round valued the company at EUR 5 billion (~USD 5.7 billion).
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Apeel Sciences produces edible coatings made of plant materials that extend the lifetime of fruits by 2-3x with the goal of preventing food wastages in regions where there is a lack of refrigeration. According to the company, US retailers that use Apeel experience a 50% reduction in waste alongside a 5%-10% growth in sales on average. As of July 2021, Apeel Sciences reported to have saved around 69 million pieces of produce from going to waste at retail stores by partnering with small family-owned farmers, local organic growers, grocery stores, and large food brands. As of August 2021, the company was offering its solution to a network of 30 suppliers and 40 retailers across eight countries, including the US, UK, Spain, Netherlands, and Kenya. The company focuses on expanding its market presence across North America and the EU. 
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s early years were supported by a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant of USD 100,000 in 2012 and Andreessen Horowitz, which led the company&rsquo;s 2016 Series B funding round. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry have also invested in Apeel.
 
 
 In May 2020, Apeel announced plans to expand to Sub-Saharan Africa, Central, and South America&mdash;all regions where food wastage is increasing. In May 2021, Apeel Sciences acquired startup Impact Vision for an undisclosed amount. Impact vision&rsquo;s technology allows suppliers to see inside their fresh produce and ultimately reduce post-harvest loss, optimize distribution, while continuing to extend shelf-life. 
 
 
 In August 2021, the company raised USD 250 million in a Series E funding round led by Temasek at USD 2 billion valuation. The company expects to use the funds to expand its product distribution across the US, UK, and Europe by accelerating deployment of its product across its existing supplier network and by partnering with 10 new suppliers by the end of 2021. The company also plans to use the funds to strengthen its data and insights offering and support its future acquisition plans.
 
</div>

Apeel Sciences

<div>
 
 Shelf Engine provides demand forecasting tools for perishable food items to reduce inefficiencies in the ordering system and minimize overall costs. According to Shelf Engine, more than 30% of highly perishable foods in grocery stores such as meat and vegetables expire before the sell-by date. Shelf Engine’s scan-based trade (SBT) technology guarantees sales and pays for any items that remain unsold. Via the SBT, Shelf Engine manages orders, pays vendors, and only charges the retailer for what sells while still paying suppliers for their full order and increasing its accuracy over time. Shelf generates revenue by charging a mark-up on the product from the vendor to the retailer.
 
 
 The pandemic benefited Shelf Engine as grocers found it difficult to manage orders during lockdown. In March 2021, Shelf Engine raised USD 41 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst to further invest in its growing team of engineers, data scientists, and supply chain automation experts. As of March 2021, Shelf Engine operated in more than 2,000 grocery stores and claimed to increase profit margins by more than 50% by reducing food waste by as much as 32%.
 
</div>

Shelf Engine

<div>
 
 Afresh began as a research project in 2017 to develop AI-powered software that optimizes the entire food supply chain. Specifically, the company offers an in-store solution for grocery stores that applies artificial intelligence to manage the freshness of food. According to the company, implementation of its technology has led to a 25%&ndash;45% reduction of in-store food waste and increased gross margin of fresh produce sales by 4 percentage points. The company generates revenue under a SaaS model.&nbsp;I
 n 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16835">
 March 2023,
 </a>
 the company expanded into fresh departments, including meat, seafood, deli, and food service.
 
 
 Some of Afresh's key customers include Fresh Thyme Market, WinCo Foods, and Heinen&rsquo;s. In 2019, the company also reported that it had established partnerships with three US grocery chains, each with more than 100 stores in operation. &nbsp;The company also collaborated with Bashas&rsquo; Supermarkets Inc. (a chain of grocery stores based in North America with over 100 stores) in September 2021 and New Season Market (a chain of 19 privately owned grocery stores) in October 2021 to pilot the &ldquo;Afresh AI-driven software solution&rdquo; at selected stores. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15786">
 January 2023
 </a>
 , Afresh and Albertsons Companies announced the completion of an enterprise rollout of the Afresh predictive ordering and inventory management platform. As of January 2023, the company&rsquo;s technology was deployed across 3,000 stores in 40 states in the US, and it also reported that it was able to triple its customer base in 2021. Afresh notes that it is on track to help retailers save 34 million pounds of food waste by the end of 2022.
 
 
 In August 2022, AFresh raised USD 115 million in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12187">
 Series B 
 </a>
 funding round led by Spark Capital. Following the USD 13 million funding round in November 2020, the company was valued at USD 100 million.&nbsp; 
 
 
 
</div>

AFresh

<div>
 
 UK-based Winnow Solutions identifies and measures waste in commercial kitchens. The company records the reason for the waste, calculates the value of the wasted food, and keeps track of this data in the cloud. The company&rsquo;s self-titled product shares technology with autonomous vehicles, using cameras to record and learn about food being wasted and calculate the financial and environmental cost of this discarded food. Winnow Vision also provides a Waste Monitor solution to help kitchen staff track how and what food is wasted to adjust their spending on food ingredients and eliminate overproduction.
 
 
 
 
 &nbsp;Winnow&rsquo;s customers include the catering company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5386">
 ISS
 </a>
 and hotels such as Accor, Fairmont, and The Westin. As of June 2023, Winnow claims that its AI solution has so far saved customers USD 174 million and cut 217,000 tons of CO2 emissions worldwide, equivalent to taking nearly 50,000 cars off the road for a year.
 
 
 
 
 In June 2023, the company raised USD 10 million in a Series C funding round led by ArcTern Ventures. Winnow's previous funding round raised USD 12 million in October 2019 shortly after the receipt of a USD 8 million loan finance from The European Investment Bank (EIB).
 
 
 
</div>

Winnow Solutions

<div>
 
 Hazel Technologies is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded technology company that develops a packaging which releases vapors that slow the aging process and prevent fungus or decay. Its solution is claimed to double the shelf-life of produce. Hazel operates a B2B business that targets large enterprises. The company has reported treating 700 million pounds of produce as of 2019, saving about 60 million pounds from going bad in 2019 alone. The company has a target to save one billion pounds of produce from going to waste by the end of 2021. Hazel operates in 12 countries including the US and Chile (entered in October 2020). 
 
 
 Hazel works with around 250 foodservice providers and produce companies including the likes of Sysco, Mission Produce, Zespri, Calavo, and Oppy. The company reported in 2019 that it plans to develop new products such as antimicrobial packaging for berries, grapes, and other fruit, and also expects to launch its shelf-life extension technology for meat products.
 
 
 Since 2016, the company has received a total of USD 1.5 million from the USDA to develop its technology. Hazel received the USDA funding in December 2020 for solving the problem of unwanted sprouting in potatoes. In April 2021, the company announced that it had closed a USD 70 million Series C financing round led by Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund (Pontifax AgTech), and Temasek, to expand operations across Southeast Asia, Africa, and the EU. 
 
 
 
</div>

Hazel technologies

Solutions that keep food waste out of landfills

Recycling and upcycling food waste to keep them out of landfills

IoT-enabled waste prevention techniques for purposes such as longer shelf-life and inventory management

Waste prevention analysis platforms use AI/ML

Startups that prevent food wastage by prolonging the lifetime of food or better managing food production through the supply chain. Companies that develop products such as sanitizers, containers, and machines that allow food to stay fresh longer are included here. Startups that develop algorithms to determine food preservation strategies are also included.

<div>
 
 Based in Finland, Relex Solutions offers an AI-powered cloud-based platform that digitizes and automates the supply chain and retail planning to avoid over-ordering, and thereby reducing waste. The company&rsquo;s &ldquo;RELEX Living Retail&rdquo; platform covers various functions such as demand planning, merchandising, inventory management, supply chain management, and retail operations.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 The company operates in 15 countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, serving clients including Dollar Tree, M&amp;S Food, Franprix, Morrisons, PetSmart, Sephora, and Rossmann. The company claims that its inventory management solutions have reduced the number of stores experiencing availability issues by 85% within three months of implementation.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 As of October 2023, the company reported that it was serving over 400 customers across the world.
 
 
 
 
 In January 2023, the company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15736">
 partnered
 </a>
 with Movista, a platform for retail execution and workforce management to harness innovation and enhance collaboration for their retail and consumer goods customers. In March 2023, the company also partnered with MPM Products, a pet food manufacturer, to improve MPM Products' inventory planning and forecasting capabilities.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In February 2022, the company raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8609">
 EUR 500 million
 </a>
 (~USD 568 million) in a funding round led by Blackstone Growth (BXG) alongside other institutional investors. The round valued the company at EUR 5 billion (~USD 5.7 billion). The funds were aimed at scaling its technical team of developers and experts, which stood at over 400, as of February 2022. During this period, the company also noted plans to expand the number of products offered to customers.
 
 
 
 
 In 2021, the company reported that it increased its software revenue by 2x.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Project44 is a technology company that specializes in supply chain visibility and logistics connectivity solutions. The company&rsquo;s platform &ldquo;Movement&rdquo; 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.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 In April 2023, Project44 launched &ldquo;Movement GPT,&rdquo; 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.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 As of October 2023, the company's customers included leading brands such as Nestl&eacute;, Convoy, DHL, Uber Freight, and Bayer.
 
 
 
 
 In January 2023, Project44 announced a partnership with SAS, a provider of analytics software and services, which will focus on harnessing supply chain data analytics to minimize disruptions impacting the customer experience. Further, 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.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In January 2022, the company raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7695">
 USD 420 million
 </a>
 , which included a USD 240 million equity funding round led by TPG, Thoma Bravo, and Goldman Sachs&rsquo; asset-management arm. It also raised USD 180 million through the acquisition of shares by existing investors. This was followed by another USD 80 million round in November 2022 led by Generation Investment Management and A.P. Moller Holding, valuing the company at USD 2.7 billion.
 
 
 
 
 In 2021, Project44 reported an annual recurring revenue of more than USD 100 million.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Project44

<div>
 
 Supertrace offers a web-based platform to enable transparency and traceability across supply chains. The company assigns digital identities for physical commodities&mdash;a digital code that can be scanned using iOS or Android phones&mdash;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 &ldquo;plug-and-play&rdquo; 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 partnerships
 
 
 As of October 2023, the company&rsquo;s platform was used by over 60 companies across the world.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Supertrace

<div>
 
 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.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 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.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 In September 2023, Exiger launched 1Exiger, its new supply chain platform that integrates and provides access to Exiger's products&mdash;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.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As 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.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In August 2022, Exiger raised USD 32 million through a debt financing round.
 
 
 
 
 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.
 
 
 
</div>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Relex Solutions

EDGE Insights

SPEEDA Edge Funding Analysis: Mid-year 2022

Recent Updates

Obramax selects RELEX Solutions for forecasting and replenishment improvement

PriceSmart selects RELEX Solutions for supply chain and retail planning enhancement

RELEX partners with FourKites for real-time supply chain visibility

RELEX Solutions partners with FourKites to boost supply chain visibility and mitigate disruptions

RELEX Solutions launches AI tool RELEX-GPT for retailers

United Natural Foods partners with RELEX Solutions for enhanced supply chain optimization

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