Trump's tariffs could mean big business for supply chain software startup LightSource
LightSource, a supply chain software startup, has raised $33 million in a funding round led by Bain Capital and Lightspeed.
With President Donald Trump set to impose sweeping tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners this week, corporate America is awash in uncertainty.
LightSource, a San Francisco startup whose software helps companies manage their procurement process, costs and vendor relationships, didn't know what the president's tariffs plan would look like before raising its first funding round. But the timing didn't hurt.
LightSource has just closed a $33 million financing, led by Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from J2 Ventures.
"Tariffs and trade winds are shifting so fast, it's enough to make your head spin," said Ajay Agrawal, a partner at Bain and now a board member at LightSource. "For a company with hundreds or thousands of different parts and suppliers — even just understanding what the impact will be on their whole enterprise is unbelievable."
President Trump's plans to slap "reciprocal tariffs" on all countries with duties on U.S. goods is set to be announced on Wednesday. Concerns surrounding the impact of those moves pushed the Nasdaq down more than 10% in the first quarter, the index's biggest drop for any period since 2022.
Trump has already said he would impose 25% tariffs on "all cars that are not made in the United States." Autos is a market that co-founder and CEO Spencer Penn knows well.