Oslo-based ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform Xeneta has raised $80m in funding at a $265m valuation.
The funding round was led by funds advised by Apax Digital, the growth equity arm of Apax, with NY-based Lugard Road Capital, an affiliate of a previous backer, Luxor, also taking part.
Claimed to stand in stark contrast to other shipping rate and index solutions, Xeneta’s novel crowdsourced approach is said to level the playing field for ocean and air freight buyers and sellers, offering benchmarking, tendering, budgeting, planning, and reporting capabilities.
The aim is to use the new cash injection to accelerate investments in platform development, acquire complementary data sources to strengthen offering and scale global sales and marketing initiatives to new markets.
“While global trade tries to get back on its feet after a couple of years of uncertainty, it’s clear that the overall logistics industry requires a re-think of how freight is bought and sold. This new funding will help us accelerate development of our platform and add even more datasets to enrich our expert industry analyses to further drive transparency in the market,” remarked Patrik Berglund, Xeneta’s CEO and co-founder.
With a customer portfolio including the likes of Electrolux, Unilever, Nestle, Volvo, Procter & Gamble, and others, the company’s data comprises more than 300m contracted container and air freight rates and covers more than 160,000 global trade routes.
“Buyers and sellers of freight have been flying blind in a complex and opaque market. Xeneta’s world-leading dataset and cutting-edge platform provide unique access to granular real-time information and insight, enabling data-driven freight sales and purchases. This delivers compelling value for their blue-chip customer base – not just in sales or procurement, but also in budgeting and reporting, and increasingly in ESG monitoring,” explained Mark Beith, partner at Apax Digital, who joins Xeneta’s board of directors.
