IKEA's Ingka Investments Acquires Logistics Tech Startup Locus Locus will continue to operate independently and will keep expanding its services for clients beyond Ingka Group, contributing to IKEA's ongoing digital transformation.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Ingka Investments, the investment arm of leading global retailer IKEA, has acquired logistics technology startup Locus for an undisclosed sum.
The move marks a key step in IKEA's efforts to enhance its digital capabilities and build a more efficient, technology-driven supply chain.
Founded in India in 2015, Locus is now headquartered in the US, with a major portion of its operations still based in India. The company provides an artificial intelligence-powered logistics management platform that enables advanced route optimisation, real-time tracking, and intelligent allocation of vehicles and resources.
According to IKEA, integrating Locus's technology will help the Ingka Group strengthen efficiency across its supply chain—from capacity management and optimisation to last-mile delivery. The retailer believes that this partnership will support its ambition to develop a faster, smarter, and more sustainable distribution network for home furnishing deliveries worldwide.
Tolga Öncü, Head of IKEA Retail at Ingka Group, said, "By bringing Locus's technology in-house, we are taking control of a crucial element in our fulfilment chain, allowing us to deliver with greater speed and flexibility to the many."
IKEA stated that the acquisition also represents a milestone in building a stronger supply chain in India, in line with its "One IKEA" approach to creating impact across the value chain. The company expects Locus's advanced logistics solutions to reduce operational complexities, enable seamless system integration, and make its delivery network more adaptable to the rising demand for home deliveries.
Nishith Rastogi, Founder and CEO of Locus, stated, "This partnership preserves our independence and ensures our perpetuity while unlocking the scale and resources to serve our global enterprise customers with unmatched research and development. To usher in this new phase, we will expand significantly across product, engineering, and revenue teams to build a legacy of innovation and impact spanning decades, not years."
Locus will continue to operate independently and will keep expanding its services for clients beyond Ingka Group, contributing to IKEA's ongoing digital transformation.
Online sales contributed 28 percent of IKEA's total retail sales in FY24, a notable rise from 11 percent in FY19. The integration of Locus's technology is expected to further bolster this growth, complementing IKEA's previous technology investments in Made4net for warehouse management and TaskRabbit for enhanced furniture assembly services.
