Locus Raises $4M in Pre-series B Funding

From left, Nishith Rastogi, CEO & Co-founder & Geet Garg, CTO & Co-founder at Locus

Bengaluru, June 4, 2018: Logistics optimisation platform Locus has raised $4M in their pre-Series B round of funding from Rocketship.vc, Recruit Strategic Partners, piVentures and Mr. Hemendra Kothari of DSP Group, with participation from previous investors Blume Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, BeeNext and growX ventures. Locus optimizes logistics operations for enterprises, across sectors, to improve efficiencies resulting in higher profitability. The funds will be used to continue to build IP and for global expansion.

Locus is a decision making engine that uses deep learning and proprietary algorithms to provide intelligent route optimisation, real-time tracking, insights and analytics, beat optimization, efficient warehouse management, vehicle allocation and utilisation, intuitive 3D packing and measurement of packages.

Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Partner, Rocketship.vc, said, "Locus is in the forefront of a new wave of technology companies that are disrupting traditional fields like logistics and optimization through the use of cutting-edge artificial intelligence techniques".

Manish Singhal, Founding Partner, pi Ventures, commented, "Logistics accounts for 10% of world GDP and is a direct contributor to inflation. Fortunately, with increasing data availability on operations it is now more possible than ever before to use technology for impactful logistics optimisation. Locus' sophisticated AI engine has delivered 10%-15% cost reduction in real-world scenarios across the globe. We are very excited to back Nishith and Geet in building a global technology company from India".

Veteran investment banker Hemendra Kothari of DSP Group, said, "Winning companies differentiate themselves by their efficient logistics operations. We believe that Locus' innovative approach, with algorithms at the core, will enable companies to achieve performance enhancing logistics automation and supply chain efficiencies. We believe that Locus will make headway on a global scale in this important sector".

"Locus' team is focussed on building IP to solve complex real-world logistics problems globally, to increase productivity and profitability for enterprises. We are delighted to have marquee investors support us in our vision to automate all human decisions involved in logistics", said Nishith Rastogi, CEO & Co-founder, Locus.

Locus has automated logistics for leading companies worldwide like Urban Ladder, Tata Group of Companies, Droplet, Licious, Rollick, Lenskart, other global FMCG, pharma, e-commerce, 3PL and logistics conglomerates. Locus currently works with clients in India, Singapore, Jakarta, Phoenix and Vancouver.

Locus was founded in mid 2015 by Nishith Rastogi and Geet Garg who worked together at Amazon. The company has assembled a strong team of engineers, scientists from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), with sales led by a seed round investor and a multifaceted deployment team with extensive operational execution experience.

According to the PWC report 'Future of the Logistics Industry', with over $4 trillion of value to be captured, digital logistics is a force to reckon with globally.