With a new HQ, ’10-year-old startup’ CargoSense is gearing up for growth

A little over a decade after its founding, CargoSense’s leadership has a plan to take the company to the next level.

Founded in 2012, Reston, Virginia’s CargoSense is described by founder Rich Kilmer as a “10-year-old” startup. The SaaS data analytics company works to simplify the supply chain through sensor technology. Using real-time sensors and automation, CargoSense continuously checks in on shipments to make sure temperatures are being maintained, correct transit routes are followed and other logistical considerations.

Now, the 24-person company is moving into a new, 6,000-square-foot headquarter space at 11600 Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston. Kilmer told Technical.ly that the office, which is more than double the space the company had at its old HQ out of Regus, was actually in a building that he worked out of in the early aughts.

“We have room to grow here within this building, there’s availability for it,” Kilmer said. “We wanted to choose a space that, as we expand what we’re doing as a company, we can expand into the spaces within the same building.”

This move to a new space follows a period of growth for CargoSense. The company, which landed on the Inc 5000 list last year, was so far funded by angel investors and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation. Its customers include Google, for global data center shipments, and DHL for pharmaceutical shipments. Approximately two years ago, Kilmer said, the team doubled in size, as well.

He attributes this growth to the need for safe shipments. Pharma companies, he noted, lose money from temperature changes in shipments that destroy products when they’re too cold or too hot. It also means those medications don’t reach consumers that need them, he added.

“We thought, in the beginning, it was just about showing people information, showing people data that they haven’t been able to see before,” Kilmer said. “But what we realized is that’s not enough: What you need to do is do something with that data for them. In our case, we automate making sure that that data is saying that everything is going according to plan.”

Following the move, CargoSense plans to seek institutional investment later this year and will be expanding the team by about 50% in 2024, growing to as many as 40 employees. CargoSense works in a hybrid model with employees all over the country, he said, but this move will be a chance to increase local investment. In the current economic climate, Kilmer added, more local talent is becoming available, though he still wants to keep up the hybrid model and meet new employees where they’re at.

“Because there’s a real-world part of what we do, it’s not just software, with devices and things like that, we definitely needed this kind of space,” Kilmer said. “And what this also does is let us grow our local group.”