Logistics data analytics platform Locix has emerged from stealth with $20m in funding provided by investors including University of Tokyo Edge Capital.

US-based logistics centre monitoring platform Locix emerged from stealth on Thursday with more than $20m in funding from investors including University of Tokyo Edge Capital, the university’s venture capital fund.

Founded in 2014, Locix develops data analytics and monitoring products for logistics operations such as warehouses and construction sites. The technology aggregates visual, spatial and sensor data to monitor indicators such as utilisation of space and the status of assets.

Locix’s products can also be used in commercial buildings, factories, hospitals and residential properties. Features include a wireless visual sensor for capturing high-definition imagery and a local positioning system that enables precise 3D locational tracking.

Locix believes the services will help logistics firms satisfy customers’ increasing expectation of fast product delivery, which would potentially require the launch of more warehouses and fulfilment centres.

Electronic parts maker Murata Manufacturing led a series B round, included in the total figure of $20m, though an individual sum for the round was not revealed.

Other backers include computer producer Acer, robot product manufacturer iRobot, internet-of-things (IoT) service provider Yaskawa Information Systems, industrial electronics producer Yaskawa Electric and Sumitomo Corporation of America, part of conglomerate Sumitomo.

ID Ventures, a division of fund management firm ID SoftCapital Group formerly known as Acer Technology Ventures America, has also supplied Locix with capital, as have NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile telecoms firm NTT Docomo, and computer company Acer.

The capital will be used to commercialise and scale-up Locix’s products.

Locix previously disclosed $6.7m in funding from undisclosed investors in May 2018, according to a regulatory filing, after raising $4.5m of a targeted $6m series A round three years previously.