Livegistics, a Black-owned technology firm based in Detroit, announced it has received $6 million in seed funding.
The cloud-based material management system for the construction industry integrates all project stakeholders in a real-time, GPS-tracked network of digital information.
The fundraising round was led by Refinery Ventures and BlackOps Ventures, while other investors included Detroit Venture Partners, Tappan Hill Ventures, and Reinventure Capital.
Livegistics has more than 25 employees globally. Its technology is currently operating in six states and 13 landfills around the U.S. after winning the $1 million grand prize in the Grammy award winning singer, songwriter, and producer Pharrell Williams’ ‘Black Ambition’ pitch competition in 2021.
“My father and grandfather once owned and operated Michigan’s largest minority-owned asphalt company, so construction is in my DNA”, says Justin Turk, co-founder and CEO of Livegistics Turk. “My ambition to achieve and restore system integrity to the industry is still fueled by their legacy. Every business deserves to be unstoppable, and by deploying our technology to work in the field, which is mutually exclusive and profitable, businesses and communities are able to see immediate benefits.”
The platform allows truck drivers to stay in their vehicles and digitally cross scales on job sites, landfills, and recycling facilities in 13 seconds, Livegistics states. By minimizing the transmission of pathogens and long lineups outside landfills and in neighborhoods, drivers are able to adhere to social distancing norms.
The solution minimizes the usage of paper and dramatically decreases fraud, revenue loss, and lawsuits by utilizing real-time data analytics, the company maintains. Livegistics provides technology to core construction companies that helps them improve their day-to-day operations, ensuring complete transparency by linking all project stakeholders, contractors, trucks, and landfills.
“When I met Justin and Andre, it was immediately clear that this company is poised for hypergrowth,” says Tim Schigel, managing partner of Refinery Ventures. “The combination of their deep expertise and the fact that the construction industry is ripe for innovation and digitization is extremely intriguing. The company’s powerful, easy-to-use solution unlocks tremendous value for construction organizations, increasing speed and lowering costs.”
According to a study by California-based social enterprise RateMyInvestor, of 9,874 U.S. business founders, 1 percent of start-ups receiving venture capital were Black. Minorities have historically been underrepresented in the technology business, with Black company founders accounting for 1.7 percent of venture capital investment.
A number of venture capital firms and technology companies have taken steps to address the workforce underrepresentation of Black and Latinx employees. Livegistics plans to use the additional funds raised in their initial seed round to grow their hiring and marketing efforts, as well as resources to scale for national contracts and the launch of the platform’s second edition in Q2.
“While mentoring at Transparent Collective, I met the Livegistics founding team. As I am not familiar with the construction industry, it was difficult for me to grasp their product suite at first,” says James Norman, general partner of Black Ops.
“However, when I engaged with them on the product, it became painfully evident how essential their software is in the industry. Companies that change tedious, typically paper-based processes into optimized tech solutions always excites me. I am proud that our firm is supporting them in paving the way for significant innovation in the construction space”,
For more information, visit www.livegistics.com.
