Brand New, Good Old Venture Partnerships
Maersk Growth 2.0
Welcome to the first edition of Gateway to Growth, your compass in the realm where venture capital meets corporate startup readiness. We are thrilled to have you on board!
The distinction between established legacy corporations and nimble startups is blurring. At Maersk Growth, we firmly believe that the future is forged by those who dare to redefine boundaries. Gateway to Growth is here to guide the path ahead and create synergies that will shape our industry and foster innovation.
With this newsletter, we will provide brief but engaging articles, thought-provoking industry insights, and expert analyses. We will land in your inbox on a bi-monthly basis and share snippets of strategic insights and industry trends on our LinkedIn weekly.
So, who are we?
Maersk Growth is the global partner for external innovation at A. P. Moller-Maersk and we are on a mission to digitise, democratise, and decarbonise supply chains. We invest in and partner with promising startups and scaleups to support new business models and technologies.
The 'here and now' focus of Maersk Growth is our strategic collaborations with best-in-class startups and scaleups, tackling immediate business challenges through a transparent proof-of-concept process, ensuring maximum value creation and enduring partnerships.
Our investment mandate focuses on decarbonisation to enable early stage startups to take ideas to pilots or to bring high potential technologies to commercial scale through initial equity investments.
And how do we invest?
Since our inception in 2017 as Maersk's Corporate Venture Capital unit, we have built up a portfolio of more than 40 companies in the supply chain technology and decarbonisation space. We are proud of what we have achieved together with our stellar founders and look forward to continuing our partnership with our portfolio.
Moving forward, our investment focus will be dedicated to the decarbonisation sector, aligning with Maersk's ambitious net-zero goals with a particular interest in companies that can enable us and our industry to decarbonise our Ocean Transportation and relevant low carbon marine fuels.
As investors, we prioritize empowering founders beyond financial backing. Our commitment to "value beyond capital" is evident in the dedicated support from our team and organization post-investment. Our colleagues from the Maersk Energy Transition team play a crucial role in our investment process, ensuring ongoing support and accelerating transformation. We are dedicated to fostering seamless strategic partnerships for our portfolio companies.
Over the past few months, we are proud to have announced our investments in the following companies:
BoxBot – Founded by Austin Oehlerking & Mark Godwin is a US based fulfilment and parcel delivery hardware and SaaS company, which has developed a dynamic storage and retrieval platform that adapts to varying cubic dimensions and eliminates manual pick stations.
Arrive – Arrive´s storefront technology and returns management system are plug and play with existing systems and operate on a single SKU level. Also founded in the US, Rachelle Snyder & Ross Richmond run an asset light operating model and are partnering with 3PLs to enable quick and efficient returns processing
Methanology – A Swiss cleantech and engineering company based in Schaffhausen, founded by Gerhard Meier and Christoph Herz and a group of scientists and engineers, who aim to introduce a sustainable and efficient energy solution, helping to reduce the fossil energy by producing renewable methanol as the energy-power-liquid of the future for all kind of applications.
Introducing our playbook - a guide to innovation excellence by Maersk Growth
At Maersk Growth, we believe in the power of agility and focus, and we have worked to create a concise process to ensure optimal conditions for fostering successful partnerships and creating a sustainable framework for collaborations between Maersk and startups via Proof of Concepts (PoCs).
Let’s start with the first step.
Maersk focuses on innovating within supply chain technology, all modes of transportation and logistics facilities, and dedicated areas such as visibility, warehouse and port automation, energy efficiency and invest into enabling future green fuels to name a few.
We have a coordinated approach to sourcing internal use cases for external innovation and we support the business to define the scope and conditions of the collaboration to ensure the best possible setup for a potential long-term partnership. From that point on, we focus our efforts on engaging with the startup ecosystems to find the best suited companies to approach for a potential PoC.
Here’s a peak into some of our most recent Proof of Concepts:
From Factory-to-Sofa Visibility - 2030 Integrator Vision with VIZION
Our goal by 2030 is to have a fully built-out ecosystem enabling our vision of “factory to sofa” visibility with a core backbone built by end 2026. This is where our portfolio company Vizion joins as a data aggregator complementing existing partners.
The Path to Strengthen Process Standardization, Operational Excellence, Data Analytics, Automation, and Innovation with Dexory
Dexory solution is helping Maersk to automate stock checks and inventory management processes, increasing visibility over warehouse operations, reducing stock discrepancies for our customers and lowering cost-to-serve, thus becoming a critical capability. After 2 successful PoCs, moving to scaling with Maersk globally.
Funding Insights Corner
Are you on top of the emerging tech and business model trends that will (re)shape the future supply chains?
In today's rapidly changing supply chain landscape, staying ahead of the technology curve is not just an advantage; it is a necessity. Understanding the potential impact of disruptive supply chain tech trends can be a superpower, guiding you in strategic planning and empowering decision-making. Therefore, as a recurring part of future issues, we will include our 'Funding Insights', which will provide our perspectives on tech trends with potentially high impact on future supply chains.
Our data-driven insights will aspire to inform, inspire, or maybe even provoke your understanding of future supply chain tech disruptors like, for instance, the coming AI platform shift. Not sure you are hooked yet? Here are a few examples of what to expect:
What is the intersection between supply chain and decarbonisation technologies, and which tech areas already have or will significantly impact future supply chains?
Who is driving the AI platform shift in the supply chain space, and what could the short- and long-term impact look like?
Which new business models could emerge as a response to the growing trend of automating supply chain processes, such as warehousing and trucking?
The 'Funding Insights Corner' will provide a quick, light, and easily digestible update on the latest supply chain tech funding insights. If you have suggestions or preferences for topics to be covered, please feel free to reach out to us.
What’s next?
In our coming 'Funding Insights Corner', we will deep dive into tech trends focusing on warehouse decarbonisation; stay tuned for more!
See you at Slush?
Are you looking forward to enjoying the wintery weather of Helsinki at the end of November during Slush? So are we! Don’t hesitate to reach out and connect via the app. We’re happy to chat!
Encouraging Investment in South Sudanese Startups for Logistics Growth
As Maersk explores opportunities to invest in innovative startups, I believe there is immense untapped potential in South Sudan’s logistics industry that could provide both lucrative returns and a positive impact on a growing economy. South Sudan, a country rich in natural resources such as oil and minerals, is at a pivotal moment in its development. With plans to construct a new port on Djibouti’s shore and a promising pipeline to the Red Sea, the region is set to become a key logistics hub in East Africa.Investing in South Sudanese startups like Kueldit Logistics would not only support the infrastructure needed to facilitate this growth but also provide Maersk with a unique foothold in an emerging market. Kueldit Logistics aims to address the country’s need for efficient customs clearance, cargo handling, and warehousing services, all of which will play a critical role as South Sudan scales its export and import operations.Given Maersk’s expertise and global reach, a partnership with a logistics company like Kueldit could open up vast new opportunities while driving sustainable growth in the region. I strongly encourage Maersk to consider the potential of South Sudan’s logistics sector, which is on the verge of a major transformation.Thank you for considering this exciting opportunity!
Encouraging Investment in South Sudanese Startups for Logistics Growth
As Maersk explores opportunities to invest in innovative startups, I believe there is immense untapped potential in South Sudan’s logistics industry that could provide both lucrative returns and a positive impact on a growing economy. South Sudan, a country rich in natural resources such as oil and minerals, is at a pivotal moment in its development. With plans to construct a new port on Djibouti’s shore and a promising pipeline to the Red Sea, the region is set to become a key logistics hub in East Africa.Investing in South Sudanese startups like Kueldit Logistics would not only support the infrastructure needed to facilitate this growth but also provide Maersk with a unique foothold in an emerging market. Kueldit Logistics aims to address the country’s need for efficient customs clearance, cargo handling, and warehousing services, all of which will play a critical role as South Sudan scales its export and import operations.Given Maersk’s expertise and global reach, a partnership with a logistics company like Kueldit could open up vast new opportunities while driving sustainable growth in the region. I strongly encourage Maersk to consider the potential of South Sudan’s logistics sector, which is on the verge of a major transformation.Thank you for considering this exciting opportunity!