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Tech startup Slync lands $24 million in VC after former CEO allegedly stole $28 million

Goldman Sachs doubles down on its backing after SEC charges Slync co-founder Kirchner with spending company cash on personal expenses.

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Ben Ames
By Ben AmesFeb 27, 2023
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
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Six-year-old logistics tech startup Slync.io has landed $24 million from its backers, just six months after terminating its former CEO for allegedly stealing more than $28 million of investors’ money, the Dallas-based firm said Thursday.

Slync had laid off its co-founder and former CEO Christopher Kirchner in August 2022 and replaced him two months later with John Urban, the co-founder and leader of software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based supply chain management firm GT Nexus.

On February 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Kirchner with fraudulently offering and selling more than $67 million of securities to multiple investors, then keeping more than $28 million of that for himself. According to the SEC, Kirchner misrepresented the financial condition of Slync to investors by fudging the amount of revenue and the volume of contracts received from customers. He then transferred tens of millions of dollars from Slync corporate bank accounts to his personal bank accounts to fund his personal expenses, such as his personal investment entity, KFIM LLC, entertainment expenses, and a $16 million personal private jet.

Slync now hopes to put that chapter behind it and focus on developing its automated orchestration platform for shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs). And the firm’s investors seem eager to march in that same direction, as evidenced by the fresh venture capital provided by Goldman Sachs, with participation from Blumberg Capital, ACME Ventures, Gaingels, and other existing investors.

That backing follows earlier rounds of funding including a $60 million round in 2021 and an $11 million round in 2020.

“During the covid pandemic, loaded container ships anchored offshore and empty store shelves showed everyone what happens when the international supply chain breaks down,” Darren Cohen, partner at Goldman Sachs, said in a release. "We believe the Slync platform provides an innovative solution that brings the global logistics industry fully into the digital realm. The value of this technology is significant in our opinion.”

 

 

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