Dave Clark on supply chains, Auger and working with your spouse

The road to Auger

Auger is an artificial intelligence-powered operating system designed to help companies manage their global supply chains end-to-end. It aims to use its AI tools to shorten the time between when something goes wrong in a supply chain and when a company responds and pivots to adapt.

Applying AI’s powers to supply chain management isn’t a new concept, however. And with total investments in applying AI to the field expected to grow sharply over the next five years, the field is already crowded with startups.

What sets Auger apart, however, is that it’s helmed by Clark, who is as close to a rock star as anyone in supply chain logistics.

For more than 20 years, Clark played a central role in building Amazon’s automated global supply chain (his nickname was The Sniper). Clark designed and implemented much of the logistics infrastructure that today enables the kind of fast, reliable delivery that many people take for granted.

During the pandemic, Clark expanded Amazon’s operations to meet the soaring demand for home delivery. He also faced unprecedented supply chain disruptions that led to empty grocery store shelves around the world.

After he stepped down from Amazon, Clark did a brief, turbulent stint at the logistics company Flexport.

He launched Auger in 2024 with $100 million in seed funding from the venture capital firm Oak HC/FT.

“Its formation is a desire to solve this big problem with massive waste in the supply chain, massive underutilization of people in the supply chain,” Clark said. “And finally, the technology exists to make it work.”

Next up: taking on its first long-term client, Facebook parent company Meta, and synchronizing the supply chain for Reality Labs, Meta’s growing portfolio of wearables — think virtual reality glasses from Ray-Ban and Oakley — and hardware products.

A difficult task made even harder

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime has injected a new level of volatility into global trade over the last year, and his country-specific tariffs have forced many multinational companies to rethink their entire supply chains.

Most people scrolling through a TikTok Shop or clicking “Buy Now” on Amazon will never see the massive, multistep system that ensures their packages arrives on their doorsteps.

One part of it is tangible: the factories that make the product; the warehouses that store it; the cargo ships, planes and trucks that transport it; and the individual workers at each of those stages.