VIPC Invests in AI-Driven Tech Startup Rising Tide

SaaS automation drives smarter last-mile delivery solutions in fragmented logistics market.

RICHMOND, VA, UNITED STATES, May 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) today announced a strategic investment through Virginia Venture Partners (VVP), VIPC’s venture capital program, in Rising Tide, a Richmond, Virginia-based SaaS startup revolutionizing last-mile delivery and home services logistics through intelligent automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Rising Tide is focused on eliminating manual inefficiencies and unlocking new sources of revenue for logistics operators, small businesses, and individual contractors across Virginia and beyond. VIPC’s investment in Rising Tide is part of the company’s successful $1.2 million seed fundraising round.

Rising Tide is reshaping last-mile logistics and home services, such as HVAC, lawn care, and pest control, with a platform that intelligently automates dispatch, routing, and administrative tasks. By replacing outdated batch-processing systems with real-time data streaming and AI-powered decision-making, the company enables same-day responsiveness, improved margins, and faster onboarding – delivering meaningful impact to both national franchise systems and small-to-mid-sized operators.

“We built Rising Tide to solve the systemic inefficiencies plaguing logistics,” said Jeff Corbett, Rising Tide Founder & CEO. “With support from VIPC, we’re accelerating our ability to get this dynamic technology into the hands of route owners, franchise leaders, and home services businesses who need better tools to compete and thrive.”

Using advanced machine learning, large language models, and streaming infrastructure, Rising Tide tailors its intelligent automation to the specific needs of frontline logistics and service providers. The company is already gaining strong traction across the southeast, with validated customer success and early revenue. Rising Tide uniquely enables enhanced service to consumers while enabling greater operating efficiencies and ability to scale for its customers.

VIPC President and CEO, Joe Benevento, said, “VIPC’s investment in Rising Tide aligns with our commitment to fostering technology that strengthens Virginia’s innovation economy. Rising Tide offers a unique solution that solves a shared pain point in the complex logistics and supply chain industry. We are thrilled to see this innovation emerge from the Richmond, Virginia startup ecosystem.”

“VIPC is incredibly excited to support the innovation Rising Tide is bringing to the marketplace,” said Jennifer O’Daniel, Senior Investment Director for VIPC’s Virginia Venture Partners. “Their technology addresses a massive and underserved market, and their ability to deliver real operational improvements and cost savings is already clear. This is the kind of technology innovation we strive to support at VIPC.”

About Rising Tide
Rising Tide is an AI-powered Intelligent Automation platform built to modernize logistics. Designed for both traditional logistics providers (such as parcel and e-commerce delivery companies) and “expanded logistics” businesses — including HVAC, lawn care, and other home services — Rising Tide brings enterprise-grade efficiency to small- and mid-sized operators. By enabling real-time, streaming logistics that adapt throughout the day, our platform replaces outdated batch systems with dynamic, responsive routing and operations management. Rising Tide levels the playing field, giving every business access to powerful automation, predictive planning, and operational visibility once reserved for the largest players in the industry. To learn more, visit www.risingtide.us.

About Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
Connecting innovators with opportunities. VIPC operates as the nonprofit corporation on behalf of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA). VIPA / VIPC is Virginia’s designated authority for leading innovation and economic development in the Commonwealth of Virginia through research, commercialization, and technology advancement; entrepreneurship, startup, and venture capital growth; and regional ecosystem, innovation network, and industry sector expansion. As part of its operations, VIPC helps attract and catalyze private investment into early-stage startup companies, provides research and technology commercialization grants to universities and entrepreneurs, and offers resource and funding support for entrepreneurial ecosystems, innovation networks, and public-private partnerships at local, state, and federal levels.

VIPC’s programs include: Virginia Invests | Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Development | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Smart Communities | The Virginia Smart Community Testbed | The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center | Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Alliance (VAAMA) | The Public Safety Innovation Center (PSIC) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement.

For more information, please visit www.VIPC.org.

About Virginia Venture Partners (VVP)
Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) is VIPC’s venture capital investment platform that makes direct investments in Virginia-based startups with a high potential for achieving rapid growth and generating a significant economic return for entrepreneurs, co-investors, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since its inception in 2004, Virginia Venture Partners has helped catalyze investment in more than 300 startups and attract more than $2 billion of private industry capital into Virginia, resulting in 35x capital leverage.

Virginia Invests is a VIPC-led initiative that expands investment and growth opportunities for Virginia-based, innovation-driven startups and entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the Commonwealth. The investment program is designed to accelerate capital invested, from both in-state and out-of-state fund managers, into Virginia startups. Virginia Invests is expected to catalyze and attract $250 million of investment into more than 100 high-growth Virginia startups during the next 3-5 years.

For more information about VVP and Virginia Invests, visit www.VIPC.org.

Jennifer Hiltwine
VIPC
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