Hi there and welcome to Funded, where we spotlight early-stage bets on the future of tech.

Today’s issue highlights a strategic AI customs startup emerging to solve a multibillion-dollar blind spot in global trade.

Caspian, a San Francisco-based trade advisory platform, has raised $5.4 million in seed funding to help businesses recover duty refunds left unclaimed due to bureaucratic complexity. Primary Venture Partners led the round, with participation from Blank Ventures.

Founded by Flexport veterans Justin Sherlock and Matt Ebweber, Caspian offers a licensed, AI-powered platform that analyzes international shipping and inventory data to uncover eligible duty refunds and files claims directly with U.S. Customs. The startup is one of the rare CBP-approved vendors and brokers capable of handling drawback filings end-to-end.

“After working for over a decade in trade with brands and manufacturers struggling to navigate this overly complex process, we thought there had to be a better solution for businesses to manage tariff exposure,” Sherlock, Caspian’s CEO, told Future Nexus. “Tariffs have shifted from being a niche operational concern to a boardroom-level issue. Now, finance and supply chain leaders are proactively asking how to forecast, reduce, and reclaim duties.”

Sherlock and Ebweber built and scaled Flexport’s trade finance and freight audit systems, experience that directly informs Caspian’s approach. Their goal: make tariffs dynamic and actionable, not just a sunk cost. 

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This article was drafted with the help of generative AI using company-submitted details, then manually edited and carefully reviewed by a human editor before publication.