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Pandion’s technology assets include a universal label technology designed to enable for flexible delivery times and logistics. (Pandion Photo)
Pandion, a Bellevue, Wash.-based delivery startup that launched during the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom, has become the latest company to fall victim to the subsequent venture capital crunch and a return to normalcy in online retail.
The company informed employees Friday afternoon that it’s shutting down immediately, after talks with potential acquirers proved unsuccessful. Employees will be paid through Jan. 15, without severance.
Pandion employed 63 people. As a result of discontinuing operations, the company’s headquarters in Bellevue will close, as will its five sortation centers, in Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia.
The company was started in 2020 by former Amazon and Walmart executive Scott Ruffin, the founder and former leader of Amazon Air. It came out of stealth mode in February 2021.
Pandion most recently raised a $41.5 million Series B round in March 2024, led by Revolution Growth, a Washington, D.C., venture capital firm. Bloomberg reported at the time that sales were on track to reach $220 million in 2024.
In a memo Friday afternoon to Pandion employees, obtained by GeekWire, Ruffin apologized and took personal responsibility for the sudden shutdown, saying they deserved more notice and a better outcome.
The company had enough cash for operations through the end of 2024, he wrote. After spending the last month in discussions with potential acquirers, including ongoing talks through the holidays, the company was close to a deal several times, but ultimately concluded that a sale wasn’t possible.
“This is not how any of us were hoping or planning for this to end,” Ruffin wrote. He added later that the company “entered the market at a challenging time, and we needed more runway to scale, but the shift in funding availability and the US small parcel market has limited our chance to continue to grow.”
A Pandion-branded delivery van, in an image distributed by the company in 2021. (Pandion Photo)
The closure is part of a broader wave of challenges across the logistics and delivery industry, including the collapse of Convoy in October 2023, and cutbacks at companies including Flexe, Uber Freight, Flexport, and others.
Pandion picked up packages at fulfillment centers operated by retailers, routed packages through its sortation centers, then used a network of more than 1 million delivery drivers to deliver items to their final destination. Those drivers were employed by staffing agencies, and many of them are expected to be assigned to different clients.
The company’s competitors included UPS, FedEx, Amazon and others. It was #75 in the most recent ranking of the GeekWire 200 list of the Pacific Northwest’s fastest-growing startups.
Pandion raised about $125 million in equity over the last five years. With the shutdown, investors are not expected to receive a return. Other investors in the company included Playground Global, Prologis Ventures, Bow Capital, Telstra Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Schematic Ventures, Proof, and Sentinel Global.
Although the company wasn’t able to make an M&A deal, its technology represents an asset that could still be interesting to a potential acquirer. That includes a universal label technology for flexible deliveries, and machine leaning technology that optimizes logistics for better on-time delivery rates at lower prices.
Here is the text of the memo from Ruffin to employees:
As we discussed in our last All Hands, we had runway through 2024 Q4 based on our last funding rounds. As many of you know, the leadership team and I have been speaking with many investors and several potential acquirers. We have spent the last month in daily discussions with these parties, including through the holidays. We have been very close to a deal several times.
However, it has become clear to me and the board that those conversations have run their course without a favorable outcome. Due to our legal obligations to our lenders, our Board of Directors and I have decided that we must immediately shut down the company.
Today is Pandion’s last day as an operating business. We’ve already cancelled inbound packages and will have no further pickups. For the minimal packages remaining at our facilities, we’ll have one last simplified dispatch to the postal service.
As part of this process, Pandion will complete an assignment for the benefit of creditors. As a result, Wednesday, January 15, is everyone’s final day as an employee of Pandion. Your last paycheck through January 15 will arrive that day. Because we owe more than we have in the bank, we cannot provide a severance payment, even though you deserve more notice and a better outcome. I’m sorry. I take full responsibility for the series of decisions that led to this situation. I care about you, and [I] apologize this is the outcome.
This is not how any of us were hoping or planning for this to end. What each of you have built is unquestionably amazing and will leave its mark on the industry well beyond our years. I believe in my heart of hearts that the power of markets and timing can serve as either a massive tailwind propelling the business forward or a massive headwind preventing a talented team like each of you from reaching ultimate success. In our case, we entered the market at a challenging time, and we needed more runway to scale, but the shift in funding availability and the US small parcel market has limited our chance to continue to grow.
Effective Wednesday, I am no longer an employee of Pandion. My mission has now changed from Founder and CEO to a personal coach and mentor to any of you who desire help in your professional transition. I, and many others on the leadership team, are available to personally assist each and every one of you in finding your next roles.
The People team will be reaching out to each of you on next steps. I wish this final All Hands could have been under much different circumstances, but I will always retain the pride and admiration for all that we built together.
