Toronto-based Nulogy has secured a major strategic investment from Colorado-headquartered Rubicon Technology Partners to ramp up the expansion of its supply chain collaboration platform.
Rubicon’s investment comes from its fifth private equity fund, which totals $1.7 billion USD. Nulogy declined to disclose the size of the investment, however, according to a November statement from Rubicon announcing its fund close, the firm typically invests $50 million to $350 million per company.
In an interview with BetaKit, Nulogy co-founder and CEO Jason Tham said that the deal fell in the “mid-to-higher end” of that range. Tham declined to disclose whether Rubicon now holds a majority or minority stake in Nulogy, but Rubicon has previously said it typically makes “control equity investments.” Tham said the deal will result in no changes in Nulogy’s management.
“With [Rubicon’s] experience plus, frankly, the cash on the balance sheet that we have, we can execute in a methodical way… and look for different ways of growing.”
After years of efficient, organic growth, Tham believes Nulogy now has the right partner and enough funding to explore new ways to scale.
Founded in 2002, Nulogy offers a collaboration software platform for suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors, aiming to bring more transparency and visibility to supply chains. The company targets its tech solution to fast-moving consumer goods companies across the food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries, among others.
The investment follows a year of “positive growth” for Nulogy, according to Tham, as the company introduced new product capabilities and grew its customer base.
While global supply chains often see some volatility, they are currently experiencing particularly significant disruptions due to a combination of factors, including the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, increased demand, and rising geopolitical tensions, including the current Red Sea crisis.
Despite this volatility, Tham said Nulogy has managed to see double-digit growth in the last year. The company has focused on product development over the past 12 months, first with the launch of its Connect solution, which automates data delivery between external and internal teams.
Nulogy also expanded its supplier collaboration solution to customers’ extended supplier network, launched its package for contract packers in Europe, and expanded its operations to the Latin American market.
Customer growth has been a key factor behind Nulogy’s recent growth, according to Tham. The company currently works with over 100 customers across manufacturing, contract packaging, third-party logistics (including DHL and FedEx); and consumer goods (with brands like L’Oréal, Church & Dwight, and Colgate-Palmolive).
“The inflection point for us in the last year was winning some of these marquee deals,” Tham added.
With the new funding, Nulogy plans to grow its network of suppliers, enhance its data strategy to offer customers better visibility into their supply chains, and explore new ways to scale.
Nulogy, which now sits at 120 employees, was bootstrapped until closing its first external investment from the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund in 2010. Its last fundraise came in March 2023 and totalled $20 million, comprising a contribution from Export Development Canada and a working capital line of credit from Scotiabank.
The business is currently profitable, according to Tham, who prefers to describe the company as “self-sustaining.” He said Nulogy has grown primarily through revenue to this point, but this fresh capital from Rubicon opens up inorganic expansion opportunities.
He described himself as not naturally acquisitive, but noted, “We’ve seen more of that accelerate for sure in the last 12 to 18 months. People are approaching us from all over the place, but we just didn’t have the balance sheet.”
Now, the company has more optionality. “With [Rubicon’s] experience plus, frankly, the cash on the balance sheet that we have, we can execute in a methodical way … and look for different ways of growing,” Tham added.
These days, tech companies of all sizes are struggling to close financing rounds as investor sentiment remains risk-off, yet Nulogy’s investment closed in just 30 days, according to its CEO. Tham said the firm was approached by “several investors” and received multiple letters of interest, but ultimately found the most alignment with Rubicon.
Despite these tough conditions, Tham believes that companies like Nulogy are well positioned in this market. “I do think that if you are self-sustaining and you have a leadership position or pole position in the market, there’s still money on the sidelines,” Tham noted.