Venti Technologies, a provider of autonomous logistics for global supply chain and industrial hubs, has secured $28.8 million in a Series A financing.
The financing round was led by LG Technology Ventures, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm of the LG Group, with participation from Safar Partners, UOB Venture Management, and existing investors Alpha JWC and LDV Partners.
The funding will be used to accelerate Venti’s growth and meet increasing demand from customers worldwide.
Each year, trillions of dollars of goods pass through global supply chain and industrial hubs – ports, airports, factories, warehouses and depots. These hubs face key challenges such as driver shortages, supply disruptions and safety concerns.
Venti’s full-scope autonomy solutions require no change to existing infrastructure and work with any vehicle in any logistics or industrial hub.
After three years of development in one of the world’s largest container ports, the company’s fleets can navigate complex environments and heavy traffic, with unmatched precision and the ability to park 45-foot tractor-trailers accurately down to one inch.
Heidi Wyle, founder and CEO, says: “With this new round of funding, we are well-positioned to broadly deploy our autonomous logistics solutions to power safer and more efficient global supply chains and industrial yards.
“Our autonomous vehicles have industrial grade precision in everyday operating environments and are already successfully in use. We have the potential to revolutionize goods transportation and are excited to be working with partners around the world to make this vision a reality.”
Anshul Agarwal, managing director at LG Technology Ventures, says: “Venti is solving real-world problems for large customers in huge markets with technology that has proven safe, mature and capable of near-term driverless deployment.
“We are impressed not only by the technology, which is more complete and rapidly able to provide value to end customers, but also by the world-class team.”
Venti was founded in 2018 by a team with strong MIT roots, including:
- CEO Dr Heidi Wyle
- Chief Scientific Officer Dr Xinxin Du; and
- MIT electrical engineering and computer science professors Daniela Rus, Director, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and MacArthur Fellow, and Saman Amarasinghe.
Arunas Chesonis, managing partner at Safar Partners, says: “Venti represents exactly the kind of opportunity that appeals to Safar: best-in-class technology developed by leading minds from the world’s top universities working to develop innovative, implementable solutions that address real world market needs.
“We enthusiastically support Venti in scaling its operations and demonstrating its value to a wider cast of partners and customers worldwide.”
