- Specialization
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- Business
Professional Servicesand 1 more business valuesLess
- Logistics Services
- Market
- Transportation
- Ecosystem
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- Customers
- Enterprises
More details
- Organization type
- Commercial Company
- Ecosystem
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- Business
- Professional Services, Logistics Services
- Specialization
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- Market
- Transportation
- Customers
- Enterprises
- Delivery models
- Professional Services
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- Seed
- Reported funding amount
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About
Forge provides end-to-end global trade services, including U.S. customs brokerage, IEEPA tariff refunds, and duty drawback, for companies managing imported goods and international supply chains. It differentiates itself by combining licensed customs experts, proprietary AI, and white-glove service to automate paperwork and reduce customer effort.
Market
Forge competes in U.S. customs brokerage and global-trade recovery, spanning customs clearance, tariff refunds, and duty drawback. It positions itself as an AI-native, technology-enabled broker that combines licensed customs specialists with an integrated visibility and recovery workflow, differentiating it from logistics-platform providers such as Flexport, software vendors such as Descartes, and specialist services firms such as Comstock & Holt and KPMG.
Forge primarily serves U.S. importers and import-heavy companies managing recurring or complex cross-border shipments, particularly those that may later export or destroy imported goods and therefore qualify for tariff refunds or duty drawback. Its operational buyers are likely import, customs, trade-compliance, and supply-chain teams that need licensed expertise plus centralized shipment and documentation workflows.
At a Glance
Problem
Forge addresses the costly, highly manual work of moving goods through U.S. customs and recovering duties that importers may be entitled to reclaim. Its central pain point is duty drawback: companies that import goods later exported or scrapped can recover eligible duties, yet the process is sufficiently cumbersome and complicated that billions of dollars of refunds go unclaimed each year. The primary use case is helping import-heavy companies identify eligible transactions, assemble the required documentation, and recover those funds—potentially up to 99% of qualifying duties, taxes, and fees.
Product / Service
Forge combines licensed customs-brokerage expertise with proprietary software and AI. It provides customs clearance, HTS classification, and trade advisory, while its platform collects import and export documents, automates the paper trail, prepares filings, and maintains an audit trail. It also reviews entries for IEEPA tariff refunds, prepares CAPE refund data, and supports submissions through U.S. Customs and Border Protection; its IEEPA offering is success-based, with CBP refunds generally taking 60–90 days after acceptance.
The delivery model is therefore a managed service supported by software rather than a self-serve automation tool alone. Customers can use Forge for routine brokerage as well as higher-value recovery work, with funds paid directly to the customer’s bank account and less documentation and compliance burden on the importer.
Market
Forge operates at the intersection of customs brokerage, global-trade management, trade-compliance software, and duty-recovery services. Its positioning is “AI-native customs brokerage,” and its overlapping competitors include established or technology-enabled providers such as Flexport’s duty-drawback service and Digicust’s AI customs agents, alongside traditional licensed customs brokers. The competitive distinction is the combination of human customs expertise, brokerage execution, and automated tariff-recovery workflows.
The company appears to be early-stage rather than a publicly demonstrated scaled incumbent. Y Combinator lists Forge as founded in 2023, part of Winter 2024, with a team of six, but the available evidence does not disclose revenue, customer counts, or named customers. Its public site demonstrates a live multi-service offering and active expert-sales model, but the strongest disclosed traction signal is its existence as an operating YC-backed company rather than reported commercial scale.
Founders & Leadership
Funding History
Gradient Ventures
Recent News
A Y Combinator-hosted company listing describes Forge as automating duty drawback so companies can recover tariffs and duties paid on imported goods. The listing also says Forge is backed by investors, but does not disclose a funding amount or identify a specific partnership.
Active Roles
5Business Model
For duty-drawback and tariff-refund services, Forge charges no upfront fee and is paid when customers receive their refunds. It also provides customs brokerage services, but the available evidence does not specify a separate brokerage pricing schedule.