CMA CGM expands startup accelerator unit

French container shipping giant CMA CGM is scaling up its support for French and international tech firms, announcing that it will expand the operations of Zebox, its startup accelerator unit.

Originally set up in 2018, the unit opened a U.S. branch in Arlington, Virginia, in 2021, and has now announced plans open two new hubs in Manchester, England, and in Singapore. The new sites will bring Zebox to a total of six hubs by the end of the year, also counting Marseille, France; Guadeloupe, Caribbean; and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

CMA CGM also unveiled the creation of Zebox Ventures, defining it as a seed fund intended to accelerate the funding and development of French and international startups. The fund aims to invest in around 50 startups every year, with an average deal size of $55,000 to $275,000. Those funding rounds will back firms operating in ZEBOX’s focus areas: optimized shipping and logistics, mobility, decarbonization and the energy transition, process digitalization and AI, and the future of work.

Finally, the company said that Zebox and Zebox Ventures are joining CMA CGM’s Startup Hub to achieve more seamless coordination of interactions between the CMA CGM Group and the startup ecosystem.

Zebox is designed to connect startups with major corporations, supporting entrepreneurs’ needs such as the execution of their project, the acceleration of their expansion, a major emphasis on international development, and fundraising via a community of investors. To date, that community now counts 17 partners, over 130 startups, and $235 million in funding raised.