As the global trade landscape becomes increasingly complex with the introduction of new tariffs, a London-based startup called Swap is poised to simplify cross-border e-commerce for businesses. Today, the company announced a $40 million Series B funding round led by ICONIQ Growth, with participation from Cherry Ventures, QED Investors, Portfolio Ventures, and 9900 Capital.

The funding will be used to expand Swap's existing footprint with U.K. businesses, with plans to enter wider Europe, the U.S., Australia, and Canada. This expansion comes on the heels of significant business momentum, with Swap having already secured over 500 brands as customers.

Swap's platform provides e-commerce companies with a single place to manage logistics and shipping operations, including inventory, returns, and product recycling. This comprehensive approach addresses the typically fragmented nature of these functions, making it easier for businesses to navigate the complexities of cross-border trade.

The startup's founders, Sam Atkinson and Zach Bailet, drew inspiration from their own experiences in online commerce. Previously, they had started a direct-to-consumer brand called Slow Goods, sourcing handmade goods from Africa and shipping them globally. However, they struggled to manage the logistics, which ultimately led to the idea of building Swap.

Atkinson noted that the pair's experiences with Slow Goods taught them valuable lessons about the challenges of importing goods and shipping them out. They took this knowledge and filed it away, going on to take consulting jobs at McKinsey and Deloitte before revisiting their idea and building Swap.

Interestingly, neither Atkinson nor Bailet comes from a technical background. Instead, they developed the tech backend with a team in Israel led by Oron Bendavid, the startup's VP of engineering, and another engineering team in The Netherlands.

According to research, the global cross-border market is forecasted to be worth $7.9 trillion by 2030. This presents a significant opportunity for companies like Swap to target smaller businesses that want to tap into the internet to sell to more people, potentially reducing their reliance on third-party platforms like Amazon.

Seth Pierrepont, who led the investment for ICONIQ Growth, believes that the current dynamic tariff environment will drive efforts to build efficiency and reduce costs associated with sending items around the world. He sees software providers like Swap as well-positioned to alleviate these headaches.

Pierrepont also highlighted the importance of data in Swap's platform, noting that having multiple logistics tools in a single platform provides unified data, enabling more sophisticated operational insights over time.

With its latest funding round, Swap is poised to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient cross-border e-commerce solutions. As the global trade landscape continues to evolve, startups like Swap are well-positioned to help businesses navigate the complexities and capitalize on new opportunities.