RICHMOND, BC, April 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - UniUni, one of the fastest
growing tech companies in Canada,
is pleased to announce that it has raised US$50 million in an oversubscribed Series C
financing round led by global venture capital firm DCM. This is
UniUni's largest funding round to date and comes on the heels of it
closing a US$20 million Series B2
round of financing in December 2023,
led by leading Canadian tech investor, Celtic House Venture
Partners.
A North American powerhouse in e-commerce last-mile logistics,
UniUni has raised more than US$70
million in the last 4 months as it continues to disrupt the
B2C last-mile delivery model with its logistics platform optimized
for e-commerce and a variable-cost model for driver recruitment,
dispatch and routing. UniUni ranked fourth in The Globe and Mail's
2023 list of Canada's Top Growing
Companies, with a three-year growth rate of 12,854 per cent.
"These funds will be used to further develop our proprietary
tech stack that powers our logistics platform and to grow our
network of sorting centers as we continue to expand delivery
coverage across the United
States," said UniUni CEO Peter
Lu.
"At DCM, no matter what sector we're investing in, we're
passionate about funding solutions that break through the noise and
domination of larger players to deliver products and services that
improve the way industries operate," said Ramon Zeng, General Partner at DCM. "In just a
few years, UniUni has emerged, embracing a new model of last-mile
delivery that uses technology to provide the most reliable and
cost-effective logistics service available, and we're happy to
support them as they continue expanding across the U.S. and
North America."
Founded in 2019, UniUni delivers tens of millions of parcels
from coast to coast in Canada
alone, and now boasts more than 50 high-capacity sorting centers in
North America, including in
Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Miami
and Chicago.
According to Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index Report, 21.2
billion parcels were shipped in the U.S. in 2022. This equates to
674 parcels generated per second, or 58 million per day. Parcel
revenue reached US$198 billion.
"The North American logistics market is ripe for innovation,"
Peter Lu said. "The traditional
logistics firms were born before the digital age, and their dated
infrastructure cannot keep up with the accelerating demands of the
e-commerce era. On a global scale, North American e-commerce is
still at a very early stage, and we expect online retail to
continue to grow and become the primary method of shopping for most
Americans in the next five to 10 years."
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, total e-commerce sales for
2023 were estimated at US$1.1
trillion—an increase of 7.6 percent from 2022—whereas the total
retail sales in 2023 only increased 2.1 percent from 2022.
E-commerce sales in 2023 accounted for 15.4 percent of total sales,
(14.7 percent in 2022).
"UniUni's rapid growth and strategic expansion uniquely position
it to address the pressing demands of a new generation of
e-commerce platforms, online retailers, and brands effectively," Lu
said.
About DCM
DCM is a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley,
Beijing and Tokyo with over $4.2
billion under management. DCM has invested in more than 400
early-stage technology companies globally and provides hands-on
operational guidance and a global network of business and financial
resources. DCM has backed industry-leading companies, including
51job, 58.com, Bill.com, BitAuto, Careem
(Uber), Dangdang, Fortinet, Freee, FuboTV, Happy Elements,
Hims & Hers, Houchebang (ManBang), Gigacloud, Kakao Talk,
Kuaishou, Matterport, Musical.ly (TikTok), Quantasing, Sling Media,
Sansan, SoFi, TanTan, Tuniu, UCloud, Uxin, Vipshop, YSB, Weekend
Health (Weight Watchers) and Wrike. DCM has also led investments in
rising startups, such as Assured, Brigit, CADDI, Cherry, DXY,
Enechain, EvenUp, Figure Technologies, Immersively, Linc'well,
Litmatch, Magic Moment, Maimai, Plenty, Tempo, and YunQuNa. For
more information, visit dcm.com.
About Celtic House Venture
Partners
Drawing from its experience as one of Canada's most active investors in technology
and innovation, Celtic House works with exceptional founding teams
to build category-leading companies. Celtic House engages with
emerging teams with strong track records and a data-driven mindset
to apply new, cloud-based technologies to the evolving needs of
businesses. These collective efforts have created over 75
technology companies and have resulted in over 30 IPO and M&A
transactions in the past 20 years.
About UniUni
UniUni is a leading technology-enabled logistics company
revolutionizing the last-mile delivery landscape for the e-commerce
industry. As a platform that seamlessly integrates advanced
technology with efficient delivery solutions, UniUni enables
businesses to provide a superior online shopping experience,
ensuring unparalleled efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Catering to a diverse range of clients—from emerging e-commerce
platforms to established online retailers and brands—UniUni offers
exceptional service across North
America. Recognized as the fourth fastest-growing company in
Canada, UniUni continues to set
industry standards, offering a robust, customer-centric approach to
e-commerce logistics. For more information, visit uniuni.com.
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SOURCE UniUni