- KlearNow — which is the world’s first AI-driven 100% digital customs clearance platform — announced it has closed $16 million in Series A funding led by GreatPoint Ventures
KlearNow — which is the world’s first AI-driven 100% digital customs clearance platform — announced it has closed $16 million in Series A funding led by GreatPoint Ventures with additional participation from Autotech Ventures, Argean Capital, and Monta Vista Capital. And the capital will be used to grow geographically, enhancing KlearNow’s product to cover increasingly complex export-import verticals and time-sensitive shipments.
The need for remote access and work-from-home capabilities is now the new standard for global commerce companies while today’s customs clearance process remains heavily manual. And the results are error-prone thus leading to increased importer costs and causing significant delays in the supply chain.
KlearNow’s digital customs clearance platform enables importers, customs brokers, and freight forwarders to seamlessly integrate with local customs authorities to conduct business on a single platform remotely and in real-time. And using artificial intelligence to automate this process, the platform eliminates errors and reduces the time to clear customs from hours to minutes.
KlearNow’s agnostic platform gives importers a way to centralize all of their shipments through one portal while receiving end-to-end visibility, including full transparency through the customs clearance process. And freight forwarders of all enterprise levels have unlocked significant value for their business not previously available.
Customs brokers have been finding it difficult to travel into central offices and manage physical paperwork to fulfill this critical step in international logistics from remote locations during the work from home orders. And in addition to alleviating these challenges, KlearNow’s digital platform identifies and funnels new clients directly to brokers for global customs clearance, providing more flexibility and sustainable growth opportunities.
To further support crisis mitigation efforts, KlearNow had recently expedited their FDA module to clear much-needed medical supplies and is temporarily offering free clearance for non-profit organizations that are importing masks, hand sanitizers, and ventilators.
In connection with the funding, GreatPoint Ventures Managing Partner Ashok Krishnamurthi will join KlearNow’s Board of Directors. And Daniel Hoffer from Autotech Ventures will join as a Board Observer.
Key Quotes:
“We are extremely excited to partner with this round of investors. We sought out firms who provide more than just funding, with an engaged leadership style, an extensive network, and a track record of helping portfolio companies grow and scale at unprecedented rates. We look forward to working with these investors as we revolutionize the customs clearance industry.”
-Sam Tyagi, Founder and CEO of KlearNow
“This is a significant opportunity to transform an archaic industry that is key to global commerce. KlearNow has established itself as a promising disrupter in their industry with a compelling, clear, and differentiated value proposition that doesn’t exist in the market today.”
-Ashok Krishnamurthi, Managing Partner at GreatPoint Ventures
“We are impressed by what they have achieved so far and believe in the value that KlearNow can bring to the automotive and ground transportation market.”
-Daniel Hoffer, Managing Director at Autotech Ventures
“KlearNow has been a great partner for the past year and provided UFlex with much-needed visibility and ease of clearance for all our raw materials. Recently, we decided to repurpose our facility and manufacture the urgent PPE supplies needed by the medical community, and the KlearNow platform stepped up to help us import the necessary raw materials quickly and efficiently.”
-Anantshree Chaturvedi, Vice Chairman and CEO of UFlex — which is the global manufacturing leader in flexible packaging materials and films.
“As the original investor who incubated this idea from conception to product launch, we are thrilled that KlearNow is gaining rapid customer acceptance and will be globally scaling its operations. KlearNow also offers brokers new and much needed ‘personal protection technology‘ as the platform not only increases their yield, but more importantly they can now conduct business safely and remotely, needing only to access their personal devices to clear customs for their clients.”
-Sandeep Vij, Managing Partner of Argean Capital
