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GXO pairs with investment firm to back logistics tech startups

Partners will boost warehouse innovation firms with pilot programs, research & development help, and strategic investments.

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Ben Ames
By Ben AmesMay 17, 2022
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
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Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics Inc. will partner with the investment firm Sente Foundry to boost warehouse innovation startup firms with operating cash and pilot programs, the firms said today.

Chicago-based Sente says it brings corporations, public institutions, and investors together to discover high-potential technology startups with inventive ideas and scalable solutions that can help solve today’s greatest supply chain challenges.

GXO, which is the former warehousing arm of logistics conglomerate XPO, plans to use the arrangement to generate cutting-edge automated solutions, GXO Chief Information Officer Sandeep Sakharkar said in a release.

During the year-long collaboration, Sente will conduct a global search for promising technology-focused startups, selecting them for their potential to help GXO accelerate warehouse innovation and automate logistics operations.

“We’re excited by this opportunity to connect GXO with startups with scalable groundbreaking ideas,” Sente COO Gerod Carfantan, leader of Sente’s Supply Chain and Transportation domain, said in a release. “Today’s logistics challenges are increasingly complex, and GXO has led the way globally with creative solutions, innovation and collaboration. We’re inspired by GXO’s mission to realize logistics at full potential and we look forward to helping the company achieve even greater success.”

Sente says it is looking for technology-focused startups at multiple stages of development (from prototype through commercialization) to collaborate on pilot projects across GXO’s global logistics footprint. Specific areas of focus could include: warehouse technology, robotics, supply chain technology, artificial intelligence (AI) & the Internet of Things (IoT), e-commerce technology, and communications infrastructure. Participating startups will have the opportunity for commercial pilots, R&D partnerships, and strategic investment.

Since its founding in 2013, Sente says it has supported early-stage companies that operate in over 40 countries, have received over $35 million in funding, and have generated revenues exceeding $80 million.

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