Tive vs Ankr

About

Tive is a Boston-based supply chain visibility company that provides real-time, in-transit tracking of shipments using proprietary IoT sensor tags and a cloud analytics platform. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $54M in funding and built a hardware-software solution that attaches lightweight, multi-sensor trackers to individual shipments—capturing GPS location, temperature, humidity, light exposure, and shock events—and transmits this data continuously through cellular and WiFi networks. Shippers, logistics providers, and 3PLs use Tive to monitor cold chain integrity, high-value cargo, and time-sensitive freight across road, air, ocean, and rail modes without relying on carrier-provided milestone updates that arrive hours or days after events occur.\n\nTive's sensor tags are engineered for practical field use: they are disposable or rechargeable, small enough to fit inside cartons or pallets, and designed to maintain connectivity across international borders through multi-carrier cellular roaming agreements. The platform aggregates sensor data into a real-time visibility dashboard with configurable exception alerts—when a refrigerated pharmaceutical shipment exceeds temperature bounds or a high-value electronics pallet is opened unexpectedly, stakeholders receive immediate notifications with actionable context. This capability is particularly valuable for industries with strict regulatory requirements around product integrity, including pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, chemicals, and automotive.\n\nTive differentiates from software-only visibility platforms like project44 and FourKites by providing first-party sensor data rather than aggregating carrier and telematics feeds. This distinction matters for customers who need to prove cold chain compliance for FDA or FSMA purposes, where carrier milestone data is insufficient. The company has built a global network of carrier data integrations alongside its sensor offering, giving customers a complete visibility picture that combines granular sensor telemetry with logistics event data from across their supply chain network.