Supply chain automation startup Apkudo Inc. said today it has raised $14 million in new funding to accelerate the global expansion of its Hive Device Platform across emerging channels and industries

The Series B round was led by Harbert Growth Partners and MissionOG and included Grotech Ventures and Lavrock Ventures.

Nine-year-old Apkudo’s Hive platform is designed to provide a universal system for managing connected devices across the entire supply chain by securely bridging internal systems and external partners into a single platform.

Using artificial intelligence-enhanced test software and high-volume robotics for diagnostics and cosmetic grading, Hive connects internal systems across the enterprise allowing customers to unlock powerful data from silos to enable real-time decisions. By enabling customers to connect their partners’ Hives too, the platform is said to deliver better supply chain efficiencies via a single operating system, reducing complex processes into flexible, collaborative business applications.

Apkudo’s Hive standardizes, automates and optimizes the secure exchange of real-time data between global device ecosystem stakeholders, including original equipment manufacturers mobile network operators, mobile virtual network operators, third-party logistics, device protection providers and wholesalers and traders.

“Hive is powering the beginning of a major evolution in how connected devices are managed throughout the complete device lifecycle and end-to-end supply chain,” Josh Matthews, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apkudo, said in a statement.

Apkudo customers include smartphone makers Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Motorola Mobility LLC, Huawei Electronics Co. Ltd., ZTE Inc. and Apple Inc., as well as telecommunications companies such as AT&T Mexico, T-Mobile and Verizon, and Amazon.com Inc.

“In a post-Covid economy, forward-thinking enterprises are rearchitecting current processes to provide better supply chain visibility and risk management,” noted George Krautzel, managing partner of MissionOG. “This concern is magnified in the connected device market where transparency and real-time visibility are necessary.”

Apkudo has come along way in its nine years, originally having started out as a company that offers developers solutions to amend the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem and run their apps on multiple devices.

The total funding to date for Apkudo is unknown, but it’s at least $17 million including this round and a $3 million Series A round in 2019. The company previously raised early-stage venture capital and various general debt rounds.

Photo: Apkudo