On Tuesday, Quincus, a Singapore-headquartered firm that has developed customizable, subscription-based logistics software used by global airlines, freight, e-commerce and other brands, announced that it has successfully raised a Series B venture capital round. The news is noteworthy, not least because it was led by AEI HorizonX, the fund that began its investment life as the corporate venture capital arm of aerospace giant Boeing, which then merged with defense and government services private equity firm AE Industrial Partners.
Quincus marks the first post-merger investment by AEI HorizonX, which targets firms in aerospace, defense and government services, space, power and utility services, and specialty industrial markets. Since early 2021, Quincus has registered 600 percent growth in shipments across 48 countries, and is currently transacting over 70 million shipments per month while analyzing over 1.4 quadrillion data points.
According to the firm, AEI HorizonX opted to lead the round, based on Quincus’s ability to connect shippers, operators, and freight forwarders with an open operating system while reducing the industry’s overall carbon footprint. Existing investors UP.Partners and GGV Capital–the $9.2 billion VC firm known for its prior investors in Airbnb, Alibaba, Grab, and Slack–remain invested.
Quincus says it plans to use the new round of capital, said to exceed more than $100 million, to expand its global footprint with an emphasis on commercial growth in the United States.
“As logistics operators plan their future fleets – from traditional freighter aircraft to autonomous vehicles – Quincus is uniquely positioned to help their customers open and optimize completely new routes by leveraging novel cargo delivery vehicles,” said AEI HorizonX director Beckett Jackson. “With our deep experience in current and future air platforms, AEI HorizonX and Boeing will create a unique partnership with Quincus to explore the future of cargo delivery.”
“With the backing of AEI HorizonX, Quincus not only gains additional capital but greater access to the deep operational knowledge and industry relationships that Boeing and AE Industrial have built over many decades,” said Quincus CEO and Co-Founder Jonathan E. Savoir. “AEI HorizonX, along with our existing Series B investors UP.Partners and GGV Capital, will provide an important strategic advantage as we look to expand our global footprint and invest in innovative platform and optimization offerings for our customers. We are excited about the future.”
“We believe that Quincus’ approach to supply chain technology innovation could reshape the movement of goods and commerce around the world and eventually, grow economies,” Quincus Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder Katharina-Olivia Lacey said when the Series B was first announced earlier this fall. “With Quincus’ data lake, where data is consolidated, analyzed, and fed into a single dashboard, customers will have the opportunity to make better decisions in a complex situation, such as applying mitigation measures to minimize environmental impact. We are honored to have the support of investors who believe in what we can offer. We hope to tap on their expertise to create technology inclusivity within regions that might not have access to them.”
Late last month, Quincus appointed David Jen, head of the investment and finance team at X, Alphabet‘s “moonshot factory” (formerly known as Google-X), to its Board of Directors, to provide strategic investment and advisory to Quincus’ leadership team as the company expands globally.
