Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Will logistics start-ups’ funding surge?
Logistics | Venture capital
September 30, 2024 – Logistics start-ups saw venture capital (VC) funding plummet to $2.9 billion in 2023 from a peak of $25.6 billion in 2021. The decline is a result of slower e-commerce growth, smaller trade volumes, and fluctuating freight rates. Nonetheless, senior partner Ludwig Hausmann and coauthors say the logistics sector holds substantial potential, expecting start-ups to attract more than 1 percent of total VC funding and eventually 10 percent, aligning with the industry’s contribution to GDP.
To read the article, see “Logistics start-up funding: The investor pullback continues,” July 24, 2024.
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Visual form
Two-panel chart combining a bar chart and a line chart.
Layout / body structure
The chart is split into two side-by-side panels that cover the same period from 2014 to 2023. The left panel is a bar chart of total logistics funding in dollars, and the right panel is a line chart of logistics funding as a share of all venture capital funding.
What is being compared
It compares logistics start-up funding in absolute terms and in relative terms, letting the reader see both how many dollars were invested and how important the sector was inside the broader venture-capital market.
Measurement system
The left panel uses billions of dollars on the vertical axis, while the right panel uses percentage share of total venture capital funding. Because both panels share the same timeline, the viewer can compare the level cycle and the market-share cycle year by year.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The left panel uses one vertical bar per year, with the largest bar appearing late in the series before a sharp decline. The right panel uses a single line that climbs, peaks, then slopes downward, making the drop in sector weight visible even without the dollar bars.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows the sector falling back on both measures at once: funding dollars are down sharply from the peak, and logistics has also shrunk as a share of total venture funding. The decline is therefore not just a broad market effect but also a relative retreat inside venture capital.
Key standout values or extremes
Dollar funding rises to roughly $25.5 billion at its peak and then falls to about $2.9 billion by 2023. On the share panel, logistics funding peaks around 3.7 percent of total venture capital before sliding to about 0.8 percent by 2023.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.