A food supply chain technology start-up which aims to drive reductions in waste has landed millions of pounds in funding from a syndicate of investors.
Sky News understands that Cerve, which was effectively founded earlier this year, has secured £3.5m in a round led by business-to-business software specialist SuperSeed.
Venture capital investors Zenith, Ponderosa and The First Thirty also participated.
Cerve was set up to help digitise aspects of a global food supply chain system which remains largely manually administered.
Used by 2,000 customers across the UK and Europe, the company provides a tech platform which enables data to address supply chain inefficiencies.
According to Cerve, outdated practices which remain prevalent in the industry result in billions of dollars-worth of lost opportunities, while also exacerbating critical global challenges like food waste and food security.
It cited research suggesting that more than one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste, partly as a consequence of inadequate visibility and traceability across supply chains.
Founded by Dan Mazig, a serial entrepreneur, the company is expected to announce its seed round publicly this week.
“Solving the fragmented and disconnected problems within the food system requires new thinking and a more creative and innovative approach,” Mr Mazing said.
“Current progress is simply not fast or effective enough.
“We believe that the key to a sustainable and resilient food system is rooted in data.”
Ferdinand Reynolds, principal at SuperSeed, said Cerve’s “approach to data standardisation and connectivity is groundbreaking and has the potential to reshape how the global food system operates”.