Optimal Dynamics raises series A funding to develop decision-making AI for supply chain management
After a volatile year resulting in dramatic logistics growth, Optimal Dynamics is aiming to build computers able to make real-world decisions in complex environments.
Optimal Dynamics, a start-up aiming to enhance and automate supply chain planning, has announced that it has raised a $18.4 million Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. This is less than a year after its $4 million seed round.
The investment will allow Optimal Dynamics to more than triple its current 25-person operation, with a focus on R&D and expanding current sales and marketing efforts. In addition, it will give Optimal Dynamics the resources to drive development efforts for new products in the logistics and supply chain industry.
Optimal Dynamics’ primary product operates as Software-as-a-Service and is known as CORE.ai. The start-up says that CORE.ai should have the ability to learn from and plan for uncertainty, and therefore allow companies to plan out scenarios deep into the future.
In a press release the company said that the software allows strategic (what-if simulation), tactical (1-15 days into the future), and real-time planning, all with the same technology. It claims to enable logistics companies to automate everything from high-level strategic questions around how many drivers they need or what equipment they should buy, to daily dispatching and load acceptance.
They noted that, so far, the underlying technology has been deployed, tested, and iterated on many times during engagements with major trucking companies, railroads, and energy companies, along with projects in health, e-commerce, finance and materials science.
"Bessemer is excited to partner with Optimal Dynamics to help drive their continued expansion. Logistics operators need to consider a staggering number of variables, making this an ideal application for a SaaS product that can help operators make more informed decisions by leveraging Optimal Dynamics industry leading technology," said Mike Droesch, Partner at BVP. "We were really impressed with the combination of their deep technology and the commercial impact that Optimal Dynamics is already delivering to their customers. We look forward to helping them continue to build the future layer of supply chain intelligence."