Wiz Freight Announces INR 125 Crore Series B Funding led by Japanese Venture Capital SBI Investment & Nippon Express
• WIZ is gearing up to expand into five more countries with 10 new locations, across Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, and parts of Europe
• Focus on tech expansion with new products in pipeline
• Signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu government for a proposed investment of 300 Crores in the state over the next five years is expected to create 2000 more jobs
Chennai, 31.01.2024: WIZ Freight, a full-stack digital cross-border supply chain start- up, has raised Series B funding of INR 125 Crore in equity led by Japan-based SBI Investment at a post-money valuation of INR 1400 Crore registering a 50% jump in the valuation from its last round. The company plans to raise the Series B round in two tranches. The current fund raise is a part of the larger round which the company intends to close this year. The round also saw participation from Tiger Global, NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS, Axilor Technologies Fund, Foundamental, Arali Investments, Unikon Shipping Ventures, and a few Family offices. The company plans to grow its global operations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the US with the new investment and further enhance its technology-driven logistics solutions.
Founded in January 2020 in Chennai by serial entrepreneurs Ramkumar Govindarajan and Ramkumar Ramachandran, Wiz helps exporters and importers in emerging markets book and manage their cross-border shipments on its tech platform with e- commerce-like convenience. Wiz’s AI-powered platform offers instant capacity discovery, dynamic pricing, optimised routing, door to door tracking, and automated customizable document workflows, saving countless hours for shippers.
WIZ Freight raised in March 2022 a Series A funding of INR 275 Crores (USD 36 million) in a mix of equity and debt led by Tiger Global with participation from Axilor Ventures, Foundamental, Arali Ventures, Alteria Capital and Stride Ventures.
WIZ had closed a $3.5m seed round led by Axilor Ventures in August 2021. Arali Ventures and Foundamental had also participated in the round along with angel investors Ramakant Sharma, Co-founder of LivSpace and Daniel Richner, Chairman of M+R Spedag Group, a Swiss based logistics conglomerate.
With the funding at this juncture, WIZ is well positioned for expansion of its overseas operations, continued development of the Indian operations and establishing its place as a prominent leader in the logistics sector. The organization is committed to providing effective, client-focused tech-first logistics solutions.
Speaking about the plans and strategy, Ramkumar Ramachandran, Co-founder, Chairman, WIZ, mentions, “WIZ is set to double its workforce at the Tech and R&D Center in Chennai, currently home to 200 employees. The primary focus is on scaling up the tech platform for enhanced efficiency. The tech team has demonstrated agility with the successful launch of Eylrx.AI, showcasing a commitment to cutting-edge tech products. More innovations are already in the pipeline.”
Speaking about the expansion plans, “WIZ, with a current presence in five countries, WIZ is gearing up to expand into five more countries with 10 new locations, across Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, and parts of Europe. WIZ has acquired the India leg of M+R Spedag Logistics and ATZ Shipping and is looking to expand in the logistics and warehousing space via small and medium acquisitions.
The Revenue in FY23 was ~Rs 1325 crore. This is a 300% increase from FY22 revenue, and WIZ is expecting to maintain a similar revenue run rate in FY24”.
WIZ has recently signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu government for a proposed investment of 300 Crores in the state over the next five years and is expected to create 2000 more jobs.”, said Ramkumar Govindarajan, Co-founder and CEO, WIZ.
WIZ Freight’s Series B investment not only strengthens its financial position but also propels the company into an exciting phase of expansion, innovation, and strategic partnerships.
Wiz currently has a team of ~850 employees across 30 locations in India and 5 countries outside of India. With a network of more than 200 carriers and vendors, the startup is now successfully serving more than 1500 businesses, including Adani, Mahindra, Tata, Acer, Reckitt, Kraft and Skechers, which use the WIZ platform to ship thousands of tons of cargo over land and sea each month.
The company has successfully inaugurated a one-of-a-kind tech and R&D center in Chennai, which houses about 200+ employees including both tech and operations, which acts as a central control tower for all its global shipments. The company’s cutting-edge, technologically advanced command centre in Chennai keeps track of thousands of shipments being executed live each month, guaranteeing on-time delivery and 24-hour customer support.
Comments from Nippon Express on the investment “By investing in Wiz, a company strong in digital forwarding services in India and other emerging markets, the NX Group will bolster its own global forwarding business and accelerate its DX initiatives.”
Ambit was the financial advisor to Wiz Freight on the Series B fund raise.
