United Parcel Service Inc. is investing in a logistics provider that helps companies take back and resell returned merchandise, an increasingly costly burden for retailers as more consumers take their shopping online.
Optoro Inc. makes software that sorts and analyzes unwanted merchandise, then routes it to online marketplaces and other channels using the company’s algorithms to determine where retailers will get the most money back.
UPS, which is joining several other existing and new investors in a $30 million Series D funding round, declined to say how much it will invest. Other participants in the funding round are Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Revolution Growth, Generation Investment Management LLP, Tenfore Holdings, Swan & Legend Venture Partners and the Maryland Venture Fund.