Altana Acquires Cervo AI for Customs Automation

Altana Expands Supply Chain Mapping and Compliance with Cervo AI Acquisition

Altana is enhancing its supply chain mapping and compliance solution by acquiring Cervo AI, a startup that automates customs paperwork. This strategic move comes as tariffs and unpredictable trade policies make customs compliance increasingly complex for importers and logistics providers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the acquisition was structured as a cash-and-stock deal that could surpass $100 million if Cervo meets specific performance targets. Altana's platform consolidates shipment records, public trade data, and information submitted by companies about their suppliers to trace the origin of a product’s materials. Once it identifies what a product is and where it originates, its AI can automatically classify the goods, determine the country of origin, calculate duties, and flag compliance issues. This transformation turns tasks once requiring manual research into automated lookups.

With the addition of Cervo AI, Altana aims to enhance its core product by introducing a platform that automatically generates the customs paperwork needed to clear a shipment. "We built Cervo to take the most painful, manual work off customs brokers’ desks," said Thomas Jiang, co-founder and co-CEO of Cervo AI, in a statement. "Joining Altana gives us the opportunity to bring that vision to the world’s largest logistics providers."

Customs brokerage typically involves manual processes where licensed professionals classify goods, determine the country of origin, calculate duties owed, check eligibility for free trade programs, and secure necessary permits from government agencies. These customs brokers then use this data to prepare legal filings that clear the shipment.

"Altana is on a mission to fix globalization by re-architecting global trade—building an AI network for trusted trade that connects importers, suppliers, logistics providers, and governments," said Evan Smith, co-founder and CEO of Altana, in a statement. "With the acquisition of Cervo, our logistics customers can now run and scale their brokerages on a single end-to-end agentic system—from the moment goods are classified to the moment the entry clears. That’s what trusted trade at scale looks like."

Altana claims that eight of the top 10 logistics providers, including Maersk, are among its customers. Customs and trade compliance have been central to Altana's offerings, with the company collaborating with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since 2022 to enforce trade compliance laws.

In one example, the CBP has used Altana’s platform to support enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), enabling over 2,000 CBP agents to identify goods with potential forced labor exposure across multi-tier value chains.

The CBP's workload has grown significantly due to shifting U.S. trade policies, including the introduction of various tariffs on foreign goods and the elimination of the duty-free de minimis trade provision for shipments valued below $800. The agency has processed more than 63 million entry summaries for the current fiscal year, which ends in September. This volume is already 27% higher than the previous year and up 65% compared to two years ago.

Beyond its partnership with the CBP, Altana collaborates with companies across the supply chain, including Maersk, L.L. Bean, Skims, and Avery Dennison.

Digital Product Passport Enhances Trade Efficiency

Altana recently expanded its partnership with Maersk through the launch of a digital product passport for goods within the ocean carrier's Gemini Cooperation shipping alliance with Hapag-Lloyd. These product passports are attached to goods before they are shipped and recognized by customs authorities across 12 key international ports that handle 70% of global trade.

The technology is likened to Global Entry for international travelers, as pre-verified goods move through compliance checks faster because customs does not initiate a full risk review every time.

With the passport manager, customs authorities across the Gemini Cooperation's trade lanes can communicate with importers about shipment status and make risk and compliance determinations using Altana’s agentic recommendations.

Thanks to the system's "federated data model," Maersk can share a product’s passport with sovereign governments without their underlying data ever leaving their own secure environment.

Conclusion

Altana's expansion through the Cervo AI acquisition marks a significant step forward in streamlining customs compliance and improving supply chain efficiency. By integrating automation and AI-driven solutions, Altana is positioning itself as a leader in the evolving landscape of global trade. As trade policies continue to shift, the need for reliable and efficient compliance tools becomes even more critical. With partnerships across the supply chain and innovative technologies like the digital product passport, Altana is well-equipped to meet these challenges head-on.

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