Halifax-based BlueNode, which sells logistics software for the shipping industry, has been acquired by San Marcos, California’s Everstream Analytics for an undisclosed price in what BlueNode CEO Louis Beaubien has described as a bid to diversify his company into verticals outside the maritime sector.

Founded in 2018 by Beaubien and COO Grant Wells, BlueNode has developed a supply chain analytics SaaS product for shipping companies. The system can be used to gather quick, reliable data from industry players ranging from ports to railways. More recently, Beaubien’s team has expanded the software to include features such as modeling supply chain risk and tracking emissions, including for reporting carbon emissions to regulators.

Beaubien said in an interview that the Everstream buyout, which will see all of BlueNode’s nine-person staff keep their jobs, is aimed at helping the team reach clients in the railroad and aviation industries, as well as offering more organizational resources to underpin international growth.

“What we found in conversations with Everstream was a great partner that wanted to grow BlueNode and be able to offer the technology that we have in an expanded way,” said Beaubien.

“It's a team that's really focused on the importance of sustainable growth And we’re providing software that's helping to support decision-making, so that businesses can grow and expand, but do so in a really ESG-responsible, sustainable way.”

That growth, Beaubien added, will not involve a specific beachhead region, as is the case for most startups, because of the extraordinarily globally connected nature of the logistics sector.

"The interesting thing about supply chains is that the frameworks and the emissions intensity indexes are not the same between, say, shipping and trucking," said Beaubien. "But they're both parts of the supply chain, and understanding how intensity of carbon flows across the entire supply chain and being able to create models and software that supports effective and responsible decision-making ... is where we want to be in terms of delivering value to customers."

Everstream is buying a well-proven product. BlueNode has piloted its system with the Port of Halifax and the Port of Saint John, and is part of an ongoing collaboration with Transport Canada. In 2021, BlueNode was announced as the leader of a $3.2 million, machine learning-focused Ocean Supercluster project with Swedish defence contractor Saab Technologies. That project was renewed to the tune of another $11.1 million last week.

The deal also comes after new international laws governing ship emissions took effect in November. The rules require operators to calculate and report each vessel’s “carbon intensity indicator” rating — an expansion of the International Maritime Organization's Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.

“At Everstream, we provide our customers with the risk intelligence they need to make supplier decisions, optimize logistics routes and reduce carbon emissions,” said CEO Julie Gerdeman, whose own company recently raised US$50 million from Morgan Stanley’s 1GT cleantech fund.

“BlueNode enhances our insights with its groundbreaking intermodal logistics data, enabling us to provide customers with the full range of cleansed supply chain data and increased accuracy of carbon emissions measurement.”