Investment to advance AI technology to fortify fragile global supply chains amid rising disruptions
SINGAPORE, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Portcast, the Singapore-based provider of real-time transportation visibility and predictive analytics, today announced it has raised USD 6.5 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Susquehanna Asia VC, with participation from Hearst Ventures, Signal Ventures, and existing investors including Wavemaker Partners, TMV, and Innoport. Amid increasingly fragile global supply chains and heightened disruption, Portcast's continued investment in its artificial intelligence (AI) technology helps protect clients' profitability.
Portcast provides proactive exception management, with explainable reasons and recommends alternate actions to enable shippers and logistics service providers to improve productivity, operational cost and carbon emissions in transportation. Their data network integrates data from carriers, terminals, geolocation and risk data, and proprietary documents to provide accurate visibility through a single, easy-to-integrate API and portal. Utilizing machine learning and advanced large language models (LLMs), Portcast delivers actionable insights to improve operational and financial transparency in the supply chain.
Nidhi Gupta, Founder and CEO of Portcast, said: "Supply chain disruptions have become the norm, driving up costs for shippers and logistics service providers globally. It is no longer enough to monitor shipments; the priority now is to drive actions from visibility data through automated recommendations. That's why we're committed to building a product that uncovers risks in transport but more importantly, automatically suggests actions to reduce freight costs and/or improve customer experience."
"In today's challenging economic climate, the support from both existing and new investors is a testament to the customer satisfaction we've achieved and the confidence in our approach. Looking ahead, we're eager to expand in Asia Pacific and Europe, strengthening partnerships to bring our solutions to even more companies," she added.
Richard Hsu from Susquehanna Asia VC, said: "Portcast has tapped into both public and proprietary data that brings accurate and explainable transportation visibility. But what sets them apart is their ability to turn that data into practical, actionable insights for their customers, setting a new benchmark in logistics decision-making. We're excited not only by what Portcast has already accomplished but also by its potential to solve more challenges in global trade with its unique data approach."
The new funding will accelerate Portcast's product innovation, particularly in leveraging generative AI to improve risk management, transport planning, and invoice auditing capabilities. The company plans to expand deeper into key markets across Asia Pacific and Europe, and strengthen integrations with technology partners. With this investment, Portcast is well positioned to deliver on its mission of making global trade more resilient through actionable data.
A media kit is available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17Ga6oq4Ze1zk-a4fWWtkmyEZ8o8REg2e?usp=sharing
About Portcast
Headquartered in Singapore, Portcast provides real-time transportation visibility and predictive analytics for global supply chains. Leveraging proprietary machine learning and generative AI, the platform processes over 5 million data points daily from over 370 carriers, 800 ports, geolocation data from satellite and terrestrial sources, voyage and risk data, as well as data from documents, invoices, and ERP systems. Portcast serves shippers, logistics service providers and TMS systems, offering a unified and reliable visibility solution. Trusted by industry leaders such as AIT Corp, Sumitomo Warehouse, MPG Group, Otentic Customs, FreshCo, and Wilo Group, Portcast is transforming supply chain efficiency on a global scale.
Website: www.portcast.io
About Susquehanna Asia VC
Susquehanna Asia VC is the Southeast Asian and Indian venture capital arm of the Susquehanna International Group of Companies, a global proprietary trading and investment firm founded in 1987. As part of SIG, we have access to flexible and patient capital to grow with our investments. We support founders from their early days through each stage of growth and, together with our China team, have achieved 70+ IPO/M&A and other exits among 350+ portfolio companies in enterprise and consumer technology over the last 18 years. These portfolio companies include Bytedance, Kumu, Wakefit, Inshorts, Lentra, Mobile Premier League, Musical.ly, PayMaya and RedDoorz.
For more information about Susquehanna Asia VC, please visit www.sig-asiavc.com.