[Business Insider] From Aircon to Motive, here are the 41 top Supply Chain Startups, according to Venture Capitalists

• We asked top venture capitalists to name the most promising supply-chain startups of 2022.

• VCs were asked to suggest startups in their portfolios and ones with which they had no relationship.

• Here are the outfits they named.

  One question has wormed its way into nearly every discussion of how the world has adapted to nearly three years of an ongoing pandemic: Is this the new normal?

  So the question stands for investor interest in supply-chain tech. Before the pandemic, venture capitalists showed little interest in the folks trying to revamp a logistics industry largely dependent on phone calls, faxes, emails, and bulletin boards.

  The supply-chain crisis that mimicked COVID-19's spread around the globe changed that, of course. VC investments in supply-chain-tech startups skyrocketed from $8.3 billion across 780 deals in 2017 to $41.3 billion across 1,203 deals last year, according to PitchBook. Startups like Nuro, Aurora, Faire, and Deliverr each got hundreds of millions of dollars to fuel their new ways of making goods move.

  In the first quarter of this year, VC investment fell off 2021's record pace, indicating that the wave has crested. Still, supply-chain-tech startups raised $14 billion between January and March across 301 deals — signaling that plenty of cash and interest remain.

  To identify the startups that deserve the most attention, we polled two dozen venture capitalists who cover the area, asking each to name two companies, at least one of which isn’t in their portfolio.

  Here’s what they said.

  Sourcemap, a supply-chain monitor

  Recommended by: Katie McClain, a partner at Energize Ventures
  Relationship: Investor
  Last round per Crunchbase: $10 million Series A, 2022
  What it does: The New York-based Sourcemap offers supply-chain monitoring in the US and European Union, with the ability to conduct due diligence with respect to forced labor, conflict minerals, counter-terrorism, and sustainability.
  Users of the company’s software can map, trace, visualize, and report on suppliers in a variety of industries, including agriculture, mining, semiconductors, pharma, retail goods, and food and agriculture.
  Customers include global brands like BMW, Vans, Timberland, Hershey’s, Mars, and Williams Sonoma.
  Why it’s on the list: “Sourcemap’s unique offerings — tracking everything from deforestation to forced labor within the supply chain — is integral to helping companies gain greater visibility into not only their immediate suppliers but all tiers within the supply chain,” McClain said.

  Source: Business Insider