The first dynamic, intelligent, universal map of the global supply chain.
perspectives / Portfolio

Welcome, Altana!

The first dynamic, intelligent, universal map of the global supply chain. 

Claudine Emeott, Adrianna Alterman, Enki Toto and Lauryn Poyser
July 29, 2024
  • Founder: Evan Smith, CEO
  • Sector: Climate Tech and Supply Chain
  • Location: New York, New York

The Opportunity

From climate change to geopolitical conflicts to the lingering effects of the pandemic, our global supply chain has never been under more pressure than it is today. Businesses the world over must reassess and diversify their supply chains to mitigate potential vulnerabilities and become more sustainable. However, companies are struggling to reinvent their supply chains in the face of ever-changing risks, the evolving regulatory landscape, and legacy solutions that can’t keep up with the pace of change. The market is in dire need of a new supply chain management solution that reflects the realities of the modern logistics industry.

The Solution

Altana applies artificial intelligence to vast quantities of public and non-public data to create a high-resolution, multi-relational, searchable map of the global supply chain for all physical goods for enterprises, logistics providers, and governments. 

Customers using Altana benefit from its federated data platform that provides every user visibility and AI across the global network while their personal data remains protected and secure. Altana’s AI solution can detect and share information across a customer’s value chain to help identify risks, such as high-emitting activities, out-of-compliance actions, signs of poor labor practices, and much more.

Further, Altana is one of the only platforms that can calculate Scope 3 emissions as well as inform companies of forced labor and modern slavery in their supply chain given their view into suppliers in a customer’s network. 

All in all, these factors make Altana the first dynamic, intelligent, universal map of the global supply chain. 

Why We’re Backing Altana

We believe Altana is best positioned to create and scale a Scope 3 solution. Altana’s recently announced partnership with Climate TRACE, alongside the platform’s proven ability to understand the intricacies of supply chains, means the team can illuminate emissions across suppliers. 

This capability will become increasingly important as new sustainability regulations are passed across Europe and the United States. Most companies are currently unprepared to quantify and report their Scope 3 emissions, as is required per incoming EU law. Altana is building an industry-leading solution for Scope 3 tracking at just the right time for market adoption. 

In addition to the climate benefits, Altana’s global supply chain map has many critical applications. For example, Altana can help customers root out forced labor from customers’ supply chains, coordinate supply and demand across multiple tiers of the supply chain to reduce costs and working capital, and price and insure against the risks of supply chain business interruptions.

Therefore, Altana is going after a global market that is expansive and growing. The supply chain management market is estimated to reach ~$45B by 2027. The pandemic and recent geopolitical rifts have laid bare the criticality of a dynamic, transparent supply chain for all businesses. Altana is offering a mission-critical solution to large brands across the world. 

And importantly, Altana possesses a strong data moat with its federated data model. Roughly 50% of Altana’s supply chain visibility comes from first-party and proprietary customer data. The strongest product in the market will depend on access to good data, and Altana already has a clear edge.

Finally, we’re excited to back a three-time founder Evan Smith, and a team that has years of experience building AI products.

What’s Ahead?

We’re excited to work with Altana to continue building out their Scope 3 functionality and capabilities. Given Salesforce’s commitment to sustainability, we foresee many potential collaboration opportunities both internally and across Salesforce’s ecosystem of partners and customers. Salesforce is already tracking the evolving regulatory landscape as new sustainability and human rights regulations are instituted, and Altana is well-positioned to support us and our partners.

Welcome to Salesforce Ventures, Altana!