Dave Clark, a prominent figure formerly with Amazon and Flexport, announced Tuesday the launch of his new venture, Auger, a logistics software startup. The company has secured $100 million in funding from the investment firm Oak HC/FT. Auger's mission is to enhance supply chain management operations by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other automation technologies to optimize decision-making for businesses of all scales.

Clark's establishment of Auger, based in Bellevue, Washington, follows a tumultuous departure from his role as CEO at Flexport. Flexport, a freight forwarder once valued at $8 billion in 2022, faced significant challenges due to a global freight market downturn, resulting in substantial revenue declines and workforce reductions. Founder Ryan Petersen resumed the CEO position, and Clark was removed after advocating for Flexport's transformation into a comprehensive logistics service provider.

Despite this previous setback, Clark's extensive experience at Amazon, where he spearheaded the rapid expansion of the company's delivery network during the pandemic, provided him with profound insights into the complexities of global supply chains. In a LinkedIn post, Clark elaborated that Auger will utilize AI to assist companies in streamlining their supply chain processes and mitigating inefficiencies. He contends that current market solutions, often characterized by fragmented systems or "franken-software," fall short of this objective.

A key functionality of Auger's platform will be its capacity to consolidate data from various sources and deliver real-time insights. This will empower clients to make swift, well-informed decisions without requiring specialized expertise.