Early Tesla investor DBL Partners leads $70 million investment in logistics firm Airspace

Time-critical logistics start-up Airspace, which originally broke into the market handling shipments for emergency situations including organ transplants and life-saving medications, has nearly doubled its funding in a new round of venture capital led by DBL Partners, an impact investing firm that was an early investor in Tesla. The investment is an indication of the rapid growth of logistics start-ups in the pandemic years as global supply chain issues lead to new opportunities for disruptive business models. With DBL Partners, which focuses on "double bottom line" investing, coming on board, it also raises the profile of sustainability within the business model of logistics companies and throughout the global supply chain. "With supply chain disruptions continuing to impact countries worldwide, no time in history has time-critical shipping & logistics been so essential to ensuring these complex and sensitive shipments reach their destinations on-time," Nick Bulcao, co-founder and CEO at Airspace, stated in the release. Airspace has noted that many commercial planes take off with low capacity utilization in cargo holds, one of the data points it can track and take advantage of in sourcing alternative transport options for customers.