Why We Invested in Caspian, Demystifying Customs Duties with a Free Money Kicker

Leading a $5.4M seed round to help finance teams understand and uncover millions in missed duty refunds

Tariffs and an ever volatile global trade landscape are the topic de jour. Recent geopolitical activity has thrust customs duties – previously an esoteric corner of tax law – straight into the spotlight. Executive teams and finance orgs have been scrambling to understand the implications of their specific supply chains and what various changes in duty rates ultimately mean for their bottom lines. 

“How much do you pay in customs duties annually? What’s the effective rate on your various SKUs?”

When we asked this question last year to finance leaders at multi-$B companies that move billions in goods every year, we were largely met with shrugs. At Primary, a core part of our thesis is that finance is transforming from an operational function to a strategic one. They need to be able to make better decisions and react quickly to a rapidly changing world – but to do so, they need the right data and visibility to do so. 

And if you can deliver immediate value in the form of found money – that’s even better.  

When we met the Caspian team led by Justin Sherlock and Matt Ebeweber we were immediately struck by how deeply they appreciate the nuances of global trade flows and the financing mechanisms that power them. Both have lived at the intersection of logistics and fintech in their past roles at Flexport and Loop. Justin was previously the GM of Flexport Capital which he designed and scaled to $B+ in volume. At Flexport, he met Matt who built the internal customs product from the ground up before joining Loop to build freight and audit pay solutions. They reunited with big vision and mission – to build the tax optimization platform for global trade starting with duty drawback refunds. 

We’re thrilled to partner with Caspian on their $5.4M seed round as they embark on their mission to demystify customs taxes for their customers. 

A little known tax refund program

Duty drawbacks were introduced in 1789, designed to incentivize US-based companies to export goods. At least $8B of drawbacks go unclaimed every year and that number is skyrocketing. The Treasury Department reported $100B collected from tariffs in the first half of 2025, a staggering 2.1x more than the same period last year. If those taxed goods are damaged, later exported, or destroyed, companies are likely eligible for a refund up through the last 5 years through a program called duty drawback. But the process is arcane, the data is buried across systems, and most CFOs don’t even realize they qualify.

As a result, 85% of eligible refunds go unclaimed, representing over $10 billion a year in lost opportunity. Large tax firms and brokers who understand the nuances of the program only touch the largest claims and charge up to 30% of the refund as a finders fee. 

And the kicker? They make you fill out the customs forms yourself. 

Caspian’s platform leverages cutting edge AI to do all of the heavy lifting. Their software integrates directly with customer systems (i.e. ERP, warehouse management systems), government portals (ACE’s ABI), and logistics providers to:

• Ingest unstructured data, extract relevant fields, and normalize across shipments and units

• Optimize the matching of HMS-level and SKU-level information across data sources based on customer preferences

• Structure and submit compliant claims to U.S. Customs – looking back up to 5 years for first time filers! 

• Track refund eligibility going forward with full transparency for audits and accruals

Finance teams get accurate landed costs, cleaner books, and new cash flow—without adding headcount or any changes to core systems. Early customers like Pakt Bags, UltiMaker, and Sunday Golf are already seeing 6-figure payouts in a matter of weeks. For customers that are oftentimes operating on razor-thin margins (that are getting razor-thinner with new added levies) these payouts can be major improvements to the bottom line.

The Broader Data Opportunity

Automating drawback is just the starting point. This is the first time this data has been unified and normalized at scale in detail that can go beyond SKU-level to be material level. Over time, we believe that this will allow Caspian to unlock for customer the most granular level of trade data that exists today which opens up the door for all sorts of optimization work – from classification optimization, post-summary correction, to real-time tax analytics. 

We led this round because we’re fired about the opportunity Caspian has to turn an esoteric tax program into a new strategic financial toolkit for brands and manufacturers. Against a backdrop of increased domestic protectionism, customs tax volatility, and tightening CBP regulations, we’re incredibly fortunate to partner with Justin, Matt, and the entire Caspian team on this journey to finally bring visibility into the world’s trade duty data.