London startup BoxxDocks, which is developing collapsable and trackable boxes for use in the logistics sector has raised £250,000 in pre-seed funding.
The British Design Fund supplied the majority of the pre-seed investment – £150,000 – with other investors including Techstars.
BoxxDocks says its 100% recyclable boxes can shrink down to half their size and contain internet-connected trackers. Its boxes are made in the UK.
“As a team, we were sceptical as to why others hadn’t already thought of such a simple solution to the boxes’ outdated design – something that had not changed in over two decades,” said Amarjit Pall, BoxxDocks co-founder.
“Coupled with this, we found their production involves carbon-heavy manufacturing and the use of virgin PP [polypropylene] plastics, large raw material supply chains, and synthetic dyes.”
An overview of all of the logistics boxes can be viewed from the startup’s software platform to see their location and if anything is in them.
BoxxDocks told UKTN it is yet to close its pre-seed round, which it is targetting £600,000 and will be spent on its box subscription service.
Alessandro Attanzio, cofounder of BoxxDocks, said: “There are more than five billion logistics boxes in circulation today, yet it is the only element of the logistics chain that has not been optimised.”
Phare Labs received a £300,000 investment from the British Design Fund earlier this year to reinvent the fire alarm.