Federico Gomez

Supply chain technology is a hot commodity. Venture capital investments in supply chain tech and technology-based logistics companies have totaled an estimated $15.4 billion in 2024, and more than 150 supply chain startups have been acquired in the last two years as logistics companies work to leverage cutting-edge technology to improve their services. According to a Kearney report, the biggest capital infusions have been in delivery technology, warehouse automation, and supply chain digitization and artificial intelligence (AI), and the investments are paying off. “Quite simply, the more you invest, the better you get at monetizing breakthrough innovation.” Freight brokerages, in particular, are looking to technology to help set them apart – or stay in business. Brush Pass Research reported there are 17.5% fewer active freight brokerages today than there were two years ago. Three Supply Chain Startups to Know StartUs Insights identified the top nine supply chain innovations and trends for 2025: AI Internet of Things (IoT) Flexible supply chains Big data and analytics Robotics Supply chain sustainability Supply chain traceability Last-mile delivery Cybersecurity   “The supply chain has several variables that hinder its efficiency, including globalization, government regulations, pandemics, international transportation costs, increasing competition, and more,” StartUs said of…

Supply chain organizations have never lacked data. What they have often lacked is the ability to connect it, normalize it, trust it, and turn it into better decisions. That was one of the central themes in a recent conversation between Scott Luton and Matt McKinney, Co-Founder and CEO of Loop. Drawing on his experience helping build Uber Freight and now leading a logistics technology company, McKinney offered a clear-eyed view of where AI is already creating value, as well as why the data foundation still matters more than the model itself. The Real Problem Is Not Data Volume McKinney traces Loop’s origins back to a recurring problem he and his co-founder (Shaosu Liu) saw at Uber Freight: rapid growth on the revenue side paired with a back office still dependent on people manually reconciling invoices, contracts, proofs of delivery, and surcharges. The bigger realization was that this was not unique to Uber. “The thing people miss is that the value isn’t in the quantity of data, it’s in the utility of it,” McKinney explained. “Most companies have plenty of data. What they don’t have is data that connects.” That disconnect is especially painful in logistics, where data is scattered across…