There are many reasons that orchestrated human beings’ success over the years, but none have been greater than our ability to recognize opportunities. This ability is why we can boast such a crazy record in regards to pulling off timely upgrades and avoiding stagnation. Now, when you look at the whole step from that perspective, it all seems pretty flawless, but there is much more in play here. You see, alongside being ingenious, humans are also quite ambitious; hence needing something bigger than the current step was always going to happen after a time. So, once that moment came, we kickstarted the search for a meaningful breakthrough, and we found just right thing in technology. Technology was quick to impose itself on the world mainly because of how expansive it promised to be. Unlike any other creation, technology had something for each sector. Beyond that, it also made sure to nurture what it was sowing in these areas, paving the way for a full-fledged revolution. Even today, the said revolution is thriving under a certain capacity. If there are any doubts about it, we can look at one recent piece of evidence put-forth by Flexport’s funding.
Flexport, a freight forwarding company, has officially raised over $935 million in a recently-concluded Series E funding round. With Andreessen Horowitz and Michael Dell’s MSD Partners in the lead, the round saw various other participants, including Shopify, DST Global, Founders Fund, SoftBank’s Vision Fund I, and former Greylock VC, Kevin Kwok. According to some reports, the new funding has now bolstered Flexport’s value to a whopping $8 billion, which is almost three times more than the figure it had in 2019. Since the pandemic started, our global logistics industry has gone through gazillion hiccups along the way. Buckling under overwhelming pressure, many companies have literally called it quits. However, Flexport’s cloud-oriented approach to shipping and customs management has ensured that the company not only survives but also achieves a prime position in the industry’s hierarchy.
As of now, Flexport is well-equipped to carry out every imaginable new age-task such as analyzing costs, gauging container efficiency, and most importantly, measuring greenhouse emissions to aid their clients’ efforts towards reducing carbon footprint.
“The global pandemic and the pressure it put on global supply chains has made the transportation of goods — something many people took for granted — a daily pain point,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO and founder of Flexport. “This investment signals that the market recognizes the need for a tech-enabled logistics ecosystem that has the visibility and resilience to handle unexpected challenges of any scale.”
Operating across 112 countries, and boasting 10,000 clients, Flexport is on an upwards trajectory by all means. After doubling its revenue last year, the company now plans to use the fresh funding for entering new markets and speeding up the development of in-house technology.