Richmond, BC-based last-mile logistics tech startup UniUni has closed a $70-million USD ($95.4-million CAD) Series D round as it continues extending its reach across North America.
The all-equity round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Chinese venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures, with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Brightway Future Capital, DCM Ventures, LFX Venture Partners, Vision Plus Capital, Joy Capital, and MindWorks Ventures, UniUni director of communications Martin van den Hemel told BetaKit in an email statement.
UniUni hopes to expand its direct reach to cover 95 percent of Canada.
The latter three are all based in China or Hong Kong. Returning Canadian investor Celtic House Venture Partners gained a board seat, which will be filled by managing partner David Adderley, according to a company statement.
The round marks UniUni’s third raise in just over a year, all of which have had some focus on expanding its delivery footprint. The company secured $50 million USD (then $69 million CAD) in Series C financing in March 2024, and $30 million USD ($42.2 million CAD) in “Series C2” financing this past October. UniUni has previously declined to disclose to BetaKit if its Series C round contained secondary capital.
The latest funding will aid UniUni’s expansion into new warehouses, add to its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and facilitate the expansion of its delivery footprint across both the United States and Canada, the company said in a statement, adding that it has raised more than $200 million USD ($272 million CAD) since its founding in 2019.
UniUni said it has accelerated the integration of AI and robotics across its network as of late, from routing algorithms that optimize delivery efficiency, to most recently striking a strategic partnership with Global Robotics Services (GRS) in April to automate parcel sorting in warehouses.
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The company’s labour practices have been under much scrutiny over the past year. The Information reported in December that three proposed class action lawsuits were filed against the company in 2024. The suits alleged that UniUni paid drivers less than minimum wage with no overtime for routes that could take more than 15 hours to complete, paid a lump sum based on packages delivered, failed to compensate workers for meal breaks or overtime, and misclassified workers as independent contractors. This past April, The Information also reported that local police found people sleeping inside a UniUni warehouse in Connecticut, with one supervisor sleeping on a bed made of cardboard boxes and duct tape.
UniUni claims that its network of 50,000-plus registered drivers reaches more than 80 percent of the Canadian population and more than 60 percent of Americans, with hopes to expand its direct reach in both countries to 95 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
Beginning as a small restaurant delivery startup called Uni Express, UniUni now offers a gig worker-powered e-commerce logistics platform and last-mile delivery service that uses passenger vehicles to deliver goods to consumers, acting as a delivery partner for budget e-commerce giants like AliExpress, Shein, and Temu.
Feature image courtesy UniUni.