customs-broker
(2)
Pax
Pax is an AI-native customs broker that automates and maximizes U.S. tariff refunds through duty drawback - the CBP program that lets companies recover up to 99% of import duties on goods that are later re-exported, manufactured for export, or destroyed. Founded by MIT PhD Penny Chen and repeat founder Chris Le, Pax pitches itself as 'TurboTax for duty drawback,' using LLM-powered document extraction plus deterministic optimization algorithms to file audit-ready claims in weeks instead of the industry-standard 9-12 months, while recovering roughly 15% more than legacy providers. The company raised a $4.5M seed round in 2025 and is a Y Combinator Summer 2024 company.
Caspian
Caspian is an AI-native global trade advisory platform that helps importers and exporters recover unclaimed import duties and stay compliant as tariff rules shift. Founded in 2024 by ex-Flexport operators Justin Sherlock and Matt Ebeweber, the San Francisco company is a licensed US customs broker and CBP-approved software vendor. Its platform ingests shipping and inventory data to identify eligible duty drawback and refunds, then files the paperwork with US Customs in days rather than months - replacing the spreadsheet-and-email legacy process that leaves billions of dollars unclaimed every year.