Nearly two years into the pandemic, supply chain disruptions still dominate headlines, as do large funding rounds by tech companies aiming to solve the problem.

Last year was a banner year for venture-backed supply chain management companies, which saw $11.3 billion in funding, according to Crunchbase numbers. That represents almost a twofold increase from 2020 and easily beats the previous all-time high in 2019 which saw $9.1 billion go to startups that look to keep the supply chain moving.

The numbers show not just the effects of the pandemic that shocked every aspect of the supply chain, but something more. They represent a building acceptance of tech in an industry known to run on pen, paper and spreadsheets, experts say.

“I think in the last five years the industry realized they were going to get left behind if they didn’t make the change,” said Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, which last month participated in the $25 million Series B of Atlanta-based supply chain intelligence company Verusen.

“Then COVID came and made it incredibly obvious and accelerated the adoption,” she added.

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