Cooperative Ventures Invests in OpenTug to Advance Logistics Innovation for Agriculture

Cooperative Ventures has announced an investment in OpenTug, an AI-native logistics technology company transforming inland and coastal marine transportation. Cooperative Ventures, a joint venture between CHS Inc. and GROWMARK, focuses on investing in agtech startups and developing mutually beneficial commercial relationships between startups and cooperative partners that deliver long-term value for farmers, cooperatives and the broader agricultural supply chain. In addition to Cooperative Ventures investment in OpenTug, CHS is working to implement the barge management system to build additional efficiency in the company’s supply chain.

OpenTug BargeOS optimizes marine logistics by streamlining commercial planning, voyage management, invoice reconciliation and powerful reporting in one unified platform. This technology enables shippers and carriers to create the most value by reducing idle barge days, improving ETA prediction accuracy and minimizing demurrage charges. By combining integrated barge GPS monitoring with BargeOS Autopilot’s automated ingestion of traffic reports and operational emails, users gain a comprehensive, real-time view of barge movements and voyage activity. Together, these capabilities are helping OpenTug drive stronger customer ROI and optimize the overall grain supply chain through KPI-led visibility and insights.

“Partnering with CHS and GROWMARK allows us to accelerate digital transformation across one of America’s most critical supply chains,” said Jason Aristides, CEO of OpenTug. “With BargeOS, we’re turning data into actionable insights that help cooperatives and farmers move product more efficiently, reduce waste, and strengthen return on investment. This collaboration represents a shared commitment to innovation that benefits every link in the agricultural ecosystem.”

“Cooperatives rely on resilient, cost-effective transportation to move grain, fertilizer and other key products efficiently through the supply chain,” said David Black, executive vice president and chief information officer of CHS Inc. “OpenTug’s platform offers a digital bridge to improve visibility and coordination across marine freight networks, and this investment will ultimately help our supply chain and the cooperative system become more efficient so we can deliver more value to our farmer-owners.”

With better visibility and coordination, partners using OpenTug’s digital tools can move more cargo with fewer barges. This added transparency also helps cooperatives respond more quickly to disruptions, ensuring continuity in the movement of agricultural goods.

“OpenTug’s platform has the potential to revolutionize how products move through the river system,” says Heather Thompson, enterprise marketing executive director at GROWMARK. “This investment will help strengthen the supply chains that depend on barges to move product to the right place at the right time, ultimately enabling us to better serve our farmer customers.”

OpenTug joins the growing portfolio of innovative companies within Cooperative Ventures, delivering solutions that improve productivity, sustainability and profitability across the agricultural value chain.

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