CADDi targets Midwest expansion after closing $89M round, opening Chicago office

A global supply chain startup is looking to expand its Midwest presence in the next year.

Founded by a former McKinsey & Co. manufacturing consultant and Apple Inc. engineer, Caddi Inc., which launched in Tokyo in 2017, opened its U.S. headquarters in downtown Chicago earlier this year. With that opening came a pledge of 100 jobs for the city in the next 12 to 18 months.

Caddi has more than 600 employees globally.

When Caddi CEO Yushiro Kato was setting up the business, visiting manufacturing companies across the U.S., he noticed that all the connecting flights were in Chicago. That’s when he realized it made the most sense to pick Chicago as the supply chain startup’s U.S. HQ, according to Caddi director John Tezuka.

Tezuka added that Kato looked at California before ultimately landing in Chicago. The company operates out of 223 W Jackson Blvd.

“We found that there was a rich source of talent in the Midwest and in Chicago and that the affordability index was much greater,” Tezuka said.

Kato said the company is focused primarily on the Midwest for expansion for now but expects ultimately to open branches in other areas of the country as well.

The startup is looking to bring more efficiency to the global supply chain using artificial intelligence.

Caddi closed an $89 million Series C earlier this year, bringing its total funding to $164 million. The funding round was the largest for any Japanese startup in the first half of 2023, according to Caddi.

The supply chain startup works with manufacturers on issues like procurement and data management. Its software-as-a-service program uses artificial intelligence to turn drawing libraries into searchable assets for manufacturers, fabricators and engineers.

Kato said the AI-based drawing management platform reads, analyzes and stores 2D drawings and data and makes the content easily searchable and accessible for manufacturers.

He added that AI is at the core of Caddi’s technologies, and he thinks the emerging technology could transform the global supply chain by digitizing a space that historically has been paper-driven.

Tezuka said Caddi’s technology is designed to enhance worker efficiency, not replace people.

“Caddi was created in Japan, where it is notoriously difficult to fire anyone, so Caddi has always had as part of its mission to transform the manufacturing industry without cutting jobs,” he said.

Source: Chicago Inno

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