Transportation and logistics company Schneider National Inc. led a Series A funding round for online chemical marketplace startup ChemDirect, according to a recent announcement. Both companies are based in Green Bay.
The June 30 announcement did not disclose the terms of the deal, but an April report from PitchBook Data Inc. and the National Venture Capital Association showed ChemDirect raised $6.59 million at a $32 million post-money valuation. It was the third-largest venture capital deal in Wisconsin in the first quarter, according to the report.
That investment was a portion of the company's Series A round, ChemDirect founder and CEO Tyler Ellison said in an email. There were a total of around 15 investors in the now-closed round, he said.
The startup will use the financing to grow its chemical marketplace, build out new logistics and payment technologies, and scale its go-to-market efforts, ChemDirect's announcement stated. The company has 16 total employees with 10 in Wisconsin — eight of which are in Green Bay, Ellison said. The startup plans to grow to 20 or 25 employees by the end of the year, he said.
Founded in 2019 and launched in 2020, ChemDirect's digital marketplace for specialty chemicals shipped directly from vetted suppliers was created to deliver time and cost savings for chemical buyers and sellers, according to the company. Purchases on ChemDirect have an average fulfillment time of less than four days and up to 80% in cost savings compared with other purchasing channels, the company said.
Schneider's investment gives it a 12% to 13% stake in ChemDirect, and Schneider (NYSE: SNDR) will become a transportation and logistics partner for ChemDirect, according to information reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed with ChemDirect by Wisconsin Inno.
Ellison is a former senior executive at Schneider, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was previously the CEO of Nova Molecular Technologies Inc., a Beloit-based company in the chemical manufacturing industry.
ChemDirect relocated to Green Bay from Los Angeles in 2020 after receiving an early investment from TitletownTech, a Green Bay venture capital firm founded by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. ChemDirect's legal name is Fortem Invenio Inc.
