Perth's Indrus lands $526,000 pre-seed to put AI eyes on logistics yards
What's the deal? Perth logistics-analysis startup IndrusDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised US$485.3K in pre-seed funding led by Purpose VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The money will fund team expansion and deploy its technology in more logistics yards.
What's the endgame? Indrus uses computer vision and AI to track trucks, trailers, and equipment in real time, using camera monitoring already installed at sites. Cofounders Ryan Liebregts and Dre Siwela, who met in a robotics class while studying mechatronics engineering at Curtin, founded the company in April 2025.
Why now? Liebregts, the chief executive officer, said the yard has been a blind spot as warehouses have automated. "For decades the warehouse got all the attention and the yard was an afterthought, but as warehouses have got faster and automated, the yard is becoming a constraint," he said. He added that "a delay in the yard never stays in the yard, and ends up as an idle dock, a missed appointment and an overtime shift."
The traction: Indrus has deployed with large US logistics businesses and secured a pilot with a major Australian port, logging more than 200,000 camera hours and tracking over 50,000 vehicles. Projects with Australian retail, third-party logistics, and fast-moving consumer goods firms are set to begin in 2027.
The startup graduated from Curtin Accelerate in 2025, was selected for the Stanford-NATO accelerator in Switzerland, and won the Curtinnovation Business Award. Purpose Ventures managing director Derek Gerrard said the fund knew the founders before Indrus was formally established. "Indrus' vision to bring logistics operations into the new era is one we are excited to back from WA," he said.
The signal: The round sits around the middle of comparable deals by size, a modest early bet rather than evidence of a funding wave. Australian logistics-tech has drawn selective interest—recent moves include Sydney's New Energy TransportDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which reported a $3.5 million seed round in June 2026, and Melbourne's VeyorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which closed a Series A in March. Indrus's significance will depend on whether it can show clear customer demand and measurable efficiency gains.
Read more: startupdaily.net
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