Brightlands Venture Partners is an independent regional venture capital fund manager in the south of the Netherlands. They are an ecosystem investor, investing in companies with a link to one of the Brightlands campuses. The management company has three funds under management: Limburg Ventures, Chemelot Ventures and Brightlands Agrifood Fund. While the funds are for the larger part privately funded, we seek to complement this by financing from public sources to extend our reach.

Brightlands Venture Partners

Asahi Kasei Corporation provides solutions based in chemistry and materials science to a range of markets, including fibers, chemicals, consumer products, housing, construction, electronics, and health care primarily in Japan. Segments Chemicals The Chemicals Segment offers organic and inorganic industrial chemicals, synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, high-compound fertilizer, coating materials, latex, pharmaceutical and food additives, explosives, photopolymers and platemaking systems, separation and ion-exchange membranes, systems, and equipment. The company produces, processes, and sells chemicals and derivative products, such as ammonia, nitric acid, caustic soda, acrylonitrile, styrene monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer, PMMA resin, high-compound fertilizers, and adipic acid; polymer products, such as Suntec polyethylene (PE), Stylac-AS (styrene-acrylonitrile), Stylac-ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), synthetic rubber, Tenac polyacetal, Xyron modified polyphenylene ether (mPPE), and Leona nylon 66 polymer and filament); and specialty products, such as coating materials, latex, Ceolus microcrystalline cellulose, explosives, explosion-bonded metal clad, APR photosensitive resin and printing plate making systems, Microza UF and MF membranes and systems, Hipore microporous membrane, ion-exchange membranes and electrolysis systems, Saran Wrap cling film, Ziploc storage bags, and plastic films, sheets, and foams.

Asahi Kasei

Neste creates sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, and renewable feedstock solutions for the polymers and chemicals industries. Its global range of products and services allows customers to lower their carbon footprint by combining high-quality renewable products and oil products with tailor-made service solutions.  Neste is a major producer of renewable diesel and renewable aviation fuel. They are recognized for their efforts in developing and commercializing advanced biofuels that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company places a strong emphasis on sustainability and is committed to producing renewable and low-carbon products. Their goal is to contribute to a more sustainable future by providing alternatives to conventional fossil fuels. It is involved in the concept of the circular economy, where it aim to turn waste and residues into valuable raw materials. This approach aligns with their commitment to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of their operations. While historically known as an oil refining company, Neste has strategically shifted its focus towards renewable solutions and sustainable business practices.

Neste

Empowering ambitious tech4good entrepreneurs will accelerate the transition to a sustainable world while delivering robust financial performance. We believe that companies that focus on sustainable and financial returns will outperform profit-led companies. And that technology will drive accelerated impact.

4impact

Circularise

Circularise is a digital product passports and mass balance bookkeeping software provider and operates in the sustainability and supply chain transparency market. Circularise’s software system helps suppliers, manufacturers, recyclers and brands in chemicals, plastics, battery materials, metals, and other industries to trace materials and share their environmental footprint without risking their sensitive data via our patented Smart Questioning feature. By extension, it helps brands to get visibility into their own Scope 3 emissions and other metrics, which is aligned with the regulatory push around Digital Product Passports, the SEC’s proposed climate risk disclosure rules, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.  The company's primary offering is a digital product passport, a detailed record of a product's origin, material composition, and environmental data. This passport is backed by a blockchain-powered chain of custody, ensuring the data's security and reliability. This allows companies to demonstrate the sustainability of their products and services, a factor increasingly demanded by consumers and regulators. Circularise also provides tools for conducting comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and calculating Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs). These tools help establish a trustworthy record of a product's environmental impact and streamline the auditing process.  The company's platform also facilitates compliance with various regulations and certifications, such as the ISCC Plus and ISCC EU certifications via its MassBalancer solution which helps companies to manage materials using pre-defined processes and conversion factors without the risk of over-allocation, as well as send products and generate sustainability declarations in a few clicks. The company's products are designed with data privacy at the core via our patented Smart Questioning feature, allowing clients to control which data they share and with whom they share it with.  It allows companies to share data on sourcing, carbon footprint, and human rights issues, reducing manual processes and the risk of costly mistakes.

<div>Netherland-based Circularise is a technology company dedicated to transforming global supply chains through transparency, traceability, and sustainability. The company offers a blockchain-based platform that enables businesses to track, trace, and authenticate materials and products throughout the entire lifecycle from sourcing to disposal. The platform also enables the visibility of certifications, Co2 footprint, and impact assessment across supply chains.</div>

Empowering efficiency, visibility and collaboration throughout supply networks

Supply Chain Tech

Circularise secures funding and partners with SEKISUI CHEMICAL for chemicals traceability project

Airbus

To launch a Proof of Concept (PoC) for Digital Product Passports (DPP) within the aircraft cabin industry.

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

Covestro

Circularise is joined by Covestro to launch a blockchain traceability project as part of the Startup Autobahn program.

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

Startups offering platforms or software solutions incorporating technologies such as sensors, robotics, and AI to monitor and improve the waste collection process using several methods: identifying optimal waste collection time, connecting businesses and individuals with haulers, optimizing trash pickup routes, and increasing transparency in waste management throughout the production process.

Covestro and Circularise partner for a new collaborative project for circularity in the plastic industry through the use of blockchain technology.

<div>
 
 Netherland-based Circularise is a technology company dedicated to transforming global supply chains through transparency, traceability, and sustainability. The company offers a blockchain-based platform that enables businesses to track, trace, and authenticate materials and products throughout the entire lifecycle from sourcing to disposal. The platform also enables the visibility of certifications, Co2 footprint, and impact assessment across supply chains.
 
 
 
 
 The company's solutions include a bookkeeping tool to automate mass balance bookkeeping. The solution enables its users to manage mass balance material receival and transfer on one platform.
 
 
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s solutions are targeted at various supply chain actors including suppliers, converters, and brands and OEMs in the automotive, aviation, batteries, biofuels, construction, electronics, metals, and plastics industries.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 As of October 2023, the company served clients such as Asahi Kasei, Covestro, Domo Chemicals, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Neste,&nbsp; Philips Domestic Appliances, and Porsche.
 
 
 
 
 In February 2022, the company partnered with BEC GmbH, Grundfos, Minviro, and the global Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA) to build a blockchain-based circular system that would improve transparency and sustainability of supply chains that involve critical and rare earth materials. In October 2023, the company partnered GoodFuels, FincoEnergies&rsquo; sustainable fuels brand, to deploy its software to enable the traceability of the biofuels supply chain by digitizing the biofuels record management process. ​
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 &zwj;In November 2022, the company raised EUR 11 million (USD 11.4 million) in a Series A funding round led by Brightlands Venture Partners. The funds are intended to be used to advance its mission to transition industrial supply chains from a linear to a circular economy through traceability and transparency. 
 
 
 
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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.
 
 
 
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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 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

<div>
 Netherlands-based supply chain software platform, Circularise, has gained an agreement for future equity (SAFE) from SEKISUI CHEMICAL, a Japanese firm. The funds will be used for its expansion in the chemicals market, and preparation for its Series B funding. Established in 2016, Circularise creates digital product passports and mass balance bookkeeping software, primarily for the chemical, plastic, battery, and metal industries, facilitating the tracing of materials and sharing environmental footprints data without disclosing confidential information.
</div>

Circularise

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