Maersk Growth

Hi! We are Maersk Growth, and since 2017, we have been the anchor of external innovation at A.P. Moller - Maersk. With a portfolio of 40 supply chain and climate tech startups, a team of industry experts and alumni, and an independent investment mandate, we are bridging external innovation with internal excellence. Our track record includes successful proofs-of-concept, commercial collaborations, and invaluable partnerships with leading startups worldwide 🌍 In 2021, we added the strategic partnership avenue to our offerings to accelerate the impact of innovation across Maersk. We guide both business partners and startups through the proof-of-concept cycle via transparent processes to ensure maximum value creation and foster long-term partnerships 🤝 Our investment efforts and strategic partnerships span beyond borders. In essence, we are guided by tech innovations digitising, democratising, and decarbonising supply chains, which are instrumental in steering Maersk's journey towards a sustainable future 🚢 Our current investment compass points to early-stage energy transition solutions, yet our mission extends far beyond these horizons. Emphasising Maersk's commitment to decarbonisation and net zero targets, the purpose of the investment initiatives is to support the transformation of our industry and Maersk, and they are not limited geographically⚡ 📧 Are you looking for Growth? Because we might be looking for you! Reach out directly, join our journey, or follow along from afar for weekly updates and insights. 👉🏼 Reach us via [email protected].

It's Friday so here's your brief! 🔥 Funding on the Foodforecast 🍒 Cologne-based startup foodforecast has raised €3 million in a funding round led by SCALEHOUSE Capital and Future Food Fund II, with participation from Blue Horizon Ventures and Aeronaut Invest. The funding will be used to expand Foodforecast’s AI-driven sales forecasting platform across the European food retail market, enabling companies to reduce food waste by up to 30% while automating over 90% of their ordering processes. Since its launch, Foodforecast has partnered with industry leaders such as SSP Germany, helping businesses save thousands of tons of food and reduce CO2 emissions. 👉https://bit.ly/4gV6TOX   Hauls in funding to Fuel the Future of Freight 🚛 Autonomous trucking startup Bot Auto has successfully secured $20 million in a Pre-A funding round led by Brightway Future Capital, Cherubic Ventures, EnvisionX Capital, and several other prominent investors. This fresh capital will be used to accelerate the development and commercialization of Bot Auto’s next-generation autonomous trucking technology, which focuses on improving safety, operational efficiency, and sustainability in the logistics industry. The company, founded by AV industry veteran Dr. Xiaodi Hou, is set to transform goods transportation by leveraging cutting-edge AI advancements. 👉https://bit.ly/4dtaTTT Lost Shipments Deserve a Happy Ending Too 💌 Berlin-based logistics tech startup senvo has raised €2.5 million in a funding round led by defy.vc and Two Ravens, with participation from prominent angel investors including Mike Roth, former VP of Global Customer Fulfillment at Amazon, and Dirk Reich, Board Member at Swiss Post. Senvo provides a spend visibility and reconciliation platform that helps large shippers reduce shipping costs by automating audits, verifying freight invoices, and managing claims for lost or damaged shipments. The new funds will be used to accelerate product development, with Senvo already serving major customers such as Schneider Electric and processing over 7.6 million shipments since its launch in December 2023. 👉https://lnkd.in/eSDcnfHu   From waste to wonders🗑️ Houston-based clean fuel startup Utility Global has raised $53 million in a Series C funding round led by the OPG Pension Plan and ArcelorMittal’s XCarb Innovation Fund. The funds will accelerate the commercialization of Utility Global's eXERO technology, which produces clean hydrogen from industrial waste gases without using electricity, providing a scalable, cost-effective solution to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries like steel. The company plans to deploy its first commercial units in 2026 following the successful completion of its demonstration program. 👉https://lnkd.in/dzRB4jkw

What happens when founders and industry leaders come together?👀 Post-PortFest blues have officially hit the Maersk Growth office! After sending our founders off a few weeks ago, we’ve been reflecting on the incredible energy and insights shared during their time in Copenhagen. From connecting founders with portfolio company peers to sparking new ideas with top industry leaders, PortFest was full of memorable moments. As René Østergaard Palne from Kvasir Technologies noted: "A standout moment at PortFest was connecting with like-minded companies focused on decarbonisation. The event provided a great platform to exchange insights and engage with industry leaders, which could drive future opportunities." Additionally, the opportunity to engage with A.P. Moller - Maersk’s experts added a unique layer of value to the event: "Maersk Growth facilitated insightful meetings with industry experts, helping us gain access to strategic knowledge that will play a key role in our development. The opportunity to tap into Maersk’s expertise made PortFest an invaluable experience for our team." - Said Anders Kristoffersen, Kvasir

Dexory securing double digits! 👏👏👏 We’re thrilled to announce that Dexory, one of the standout companies in the Maersk Growth portfolio, just secured an $80 million Series B funding round! 🎉 This incredible milestone will fuel Dexory’s continued expansion across AI-powered solutions and autonomous robotics. With customers like GXO, DB Schenker, and Maersk, Dexory is transforming warehouse operations and delivering unmatched efficiency to supply chains worldwide🌍 Huges kudos to Oana, Andrei, Adrian and the entire Dexory team for their amazing work - what a journey it's been! REad more about the round here:

Friday is here and so is your brief! 🔥 Spotting empty trucking capacity on U.S. roads 🔎 Virginia-based freight tech startup GenLogs has raised over $6 million in a seed round led by Autotech Ventures and Steel Atlas, with participation from Venture53 and other investors. The company will use the funding to expand its innovative roadside sensor network, which provides real-time, end-to-end visibility into truck movements, helping freight brokers reduce fraud and optimize operations without the need for hardware installation on trucks. Already adopted by top U.S. freight brokerages, GenLogs' platform offers an unprecedented level of insight into the U.S. supply chain.  👉 https://prn.to/3N1zkga Outgo makes freight payments go out faster 🚚 Seattle-based fintech startup Outgo has revealed that it had secured $15 million in a funding round led by Gradient and Construct Capital, alongside a $50 million credit facility from Upper90, to expand its financial services for trucking carriers. Outgo’s platform simplifies back-office processes such as invoice processing and payment collection, while also providing factoring services that enable carriers to access cash within four hours, often at lower fees than traditional providers. With the fresh funding, Outgo plans to scale its AI-driven platform, helping trucking businesses save time and money while managing their operations more efficiently.  👉 https://bit.ly/4eAcCri Setting sails for low-carbon transatlantic transports ⛵ French maritime startup VELA - Sail For Goods has raised €40 million in a funding round led by Crédit Mutuel Impact, 11th Hour Racing, and BPI – French Public Investment Bank. The funds will be used to build the world’s largest wind-powered cargo trimaran, which will offer fast, sustainable transatlantic shipping services by 2026. VELA's innovative sailing vessel aims to decarbonize maritime transport while providing high-value goods, such as pharmaceuticals and industrial parts, with reliable, temperature-controlled delivery powered by renewable energy.   👉 https://bit.ly/4doGOER Extending daylight for power production ☀️ Reflect Orbital, a startup developing satellites that use mirrors to extend sunlight hours on Earth, has raised $6.5 million in seed funding, led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Starship Ventures. The funding will enable Reflect to launch its first orbital mission by 2025, with the goal of using sunlight-reflecting satellites to increase solar energy output at existing solar farms. Co-founders Ben Nowack and Tristan Semmelhack envision their technology as a game-changer for renewable energy, enhancing solar power production and reducing the need for additional infrastructure.   👉 https://tcrn.ch/4gDz1WC

Run, but don't Drop! r🏃🏃♂️🏃♀️ A favourite event of ours is The Drop in Malmö. The intimacy, drive, passion and common goal amongst all participants are truly unique, and this year was no different! For the second year in a row, The Drop proved to have an outstanding crowd with the energy to join a social run in the early morning hours after the afterparty - Kudos to all who showed up, and thanks a ton to our brilliant partners Astanor, Mission One Capital and Domino Studios. A huge thanks as well to the Malmö and Copenhagen Mikkeller Running Club team for showing up with impressive skills, outstanding mood and impeccable merch to facilitate the run in a safe and social environment! 👏

Exciting News from Loadsmart! 🚀 A few weeks back, Loadsmart launched FreightIntel AI, a groundbreaking product designed to transform how companies manage logistics and uncover cost-saving opportunities in freight spend. FreightIntel AI transforms vast amounts of transportation data into actionable intelligence. With chat-like interactions, this tool helps large and midsize shippers find optimisation opportunities without needing months of analysis or costly resources. Some of the benefits include: 💸Ongoing freight spend optimisation vs. costly, once-a-year exercises 🧠Moving beyond dashboards to intelligent insights that drive action ⚡Increased productivity for teams, helping businesses focus on what's important 👂Noise reduction: It's all about cutting through data clutter and finding the insights that matter 📈 The impact? Improved efficiency, reduced freight costs, and direct benefits to EBITDA. If you're in logistics, finance, or operations, this is a must-see! Check out the demo here: https://freightintel.ai/

Big discussions at the Big Apple? 🍏   New York Climate Week is just around the corner, and we cannot wait!   Whether you're interested in AI and Transportation, Startup Collaboration with Corporates, or how you Turn Emissions into Opportunity Across Hard to Abate Sectors, Ida and Aarzoo got you covered as they will share their experience on all three topics!   'We look forward to connecting with innovators and investors with a keen interest in climate and technologies driving the decarbonisation of logistics and maritime. So much innovation is taking shape across new industries, energy, and transport. At Maersk Growth, we are taking a proactive approach to spotting and supporting promising innovations in these areas so if you're a founder or investor looking to discuss these topics, please feel free to reach out!' - Aarzoo Sharma, Senior Investment Associate, Maersk Growth   See you at a talk? 📢 1️⃣ Ida Christine Brun on Turning Emissions into Opportunity Across Hard to Abate Sectors at the ReAssembly by Regeneration.VC on 26th September 2️⃣ Aarzoo moderating a session on AI and Transportation at the event by Climactic Climate Tech x AI: Unconference – tune in at 4pm ET - stream it here: https://bit.ly/4e5I2WE

Friday is here, and so is your brief!🔥 AI-Powered Warehouse Automation with PickoBot🤖 Pickommerce AI Robotics, a robotics startup, has raised $3.4 million in funding to further develop and market its PickoBot, an AI-powered robotic piece-picking solution for warehouses. The funding round was led by IL Ventures (ILVP Fund LP) and included participation from InNegev, Fusion VC, ZIM Ventures, and the Israel Innovation Authority. PickoBot utilizes advanced computer vision and machine learning to intelligently package items of varying sizes and textures, offering a versatile, robot-agnostic solution to enhance warehouse automation and efficiency.  👉 https://lnkd.in/egxriMsp Phlair for hydrolyzer-based Direct Air Capture🪝 Munich-based startup Phlair has raised €14.5 million in a seed round led by Extantia Capital, with participation from Planet A, Verve Ventures, and a €2.5 million grant from the EIC accelerator. Phlair’s hydrolyzer-based Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology is designed for scalable, low-cost CO2 capture from ambient air, with applications ranging from permanent storage to CO2-negative chemical manufacturing. The funding will accelerate the development of Phlair’s first DAC plants, with two 260 t-CO2/year facilities set to launch in 2025 and a commercial-scale plant planned for 2026.  👉 https://lnkd.in/dNTRiBat Shrinking Electrolyzers to Supercharge Green Hydrogen Revolution 🍏 Hydrogen tech startup Hgen has raised $5 million in a new funding round led by Seven Seven Six 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣, with participation from Fontinalis Partners and Founders Fund. The company, founded by former Tesla and SpaceX engineers, is focused on modularizing electrolyzers to make green hydrogen production more efficient and affordable. With this new funding, Hgen aims to further develop its compact electrolyzer technology, which reduces costs by shrinking the system while maintaining production capacity, and begin scaling up its operations.  👉 https://lnkd.in/gPTjgyp2    Battolyser Boosts Hydrogen Tech 🔋 Battolyser Systems, the Dutch startup developing an electrolyser with integrated battery functionality, has raised €30 million in Series A funding led by Global Cleantech Capital, Innovation Industries, and Invest-NL. The funds will be used to scale up operations and launch the next-generation Battolyser® technology by 2025, designed to lower green hydrogen costs and alleviate grid congestion. This latest funding round follows a €40 million financing agreement with the European Investment Bank and will support the construction of a large-scale manufacturing facility in Rotterdam.  👉 https://lnkd.in/eJ6DA3S4 

She is Aarzoo, but could as well be ✨Staarzoo ✨… Or maybe that’s a stretch because the cliché nickname does not do her justice. Aarzoo has been an incremental part of the development of Maersk Growth over the past 2,5 years and have set her brilliant mark on most investments and initiatives run since then. Today, we are happy to celebrate her next chapter stepping into the role as Senior Investment Associate 👏👏👏 “Since joining Maersk Growth 2.5 years ago, the journey has been nothing short of exhilarating. Working alongside visionary founders tackling tough challenges in supply chain tech and driving the energy transition has been an incredible experience. In this role, I’ve not only grown professionally but also personally, and I’m eager to continue this path of learning and collaboration with our talented team. Looking ahead, I’m thrilled to dive even deeper into the technological innovations that will help us drive Maersk’s Net Zero 2040 mission forward, through strategic investments and partnerships with cutting-edge innovators.” Aarzoo shares. Help us celebrate Aarzoo and her great new achievement!