Return Helper: AI for Cross-Border E-commerce Returns

Return Helper, a tech-first provider of cross-border e-commerce returns solutions, has announced the closing of a $4 million Series A funding round. This strategic investment aims to support the company's global expansion and strengthen its critical infrastructure for reverse logistics.

The round brought together a mix of strategic and financial backers with deep expertise in commerce and logistics. New investors include Cathay Venture, MLC Ventures (the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation), and Jun Yue Investment Co. Ltd, joining returning investor Colopl Next. MLC Ventures expressed excitement about supporting Return Helper's continued global expansion, recognizing the crucial role the company plays in building infrastructure for the future of cross-border reverse logistics.

Artificial Intelligence as a Growth Driver

Return Helper is distinguished by its mission to solve complex cross-border returns challenges, transforming what are often e-commerce losses into profit opportunities. The company builds all of its products in-house, including a SaaS returns management platform that integrates a Shopify Portal and a Buyer Portal for merchants and marketplaces. This is complemented by a proprietary warehouse management system with mobile applications for operations and FlexForward, its forward logistics service covering cross-border shipping and order fulfillment.

According to Roy Wan, CEO of Return Helper, the biggest leak in cross-border e-commerce value occurs after a return is initiated. The company uses AI to bridge these gaps by measuring, systematizing, and fixing the chain where it typically breaks. This strategy led to a breakthrough year for Return Helper, which recorded over 60% year-on-year revenue growth in 2025 and achieved profitability in the second half of the year. This success was driven by the strategic deployment of AI across all company operations, significantly improving efficiency, shortening processing times, and raising service quality for merchants and marketplaces. AI has become the cornerstone of how Return Helper manages cross-border returns at scale across its network of more than 20 overseas warehouses.

International Expansion and Next-Gen AI Capabilities

Building on this momentum, Return Helper is channeling fresh investment into three main growth pillars: international market expansion, with a particular focus on Europe and other high-growth regions; the development of next-generation AI capabilities, including specialized AI agents for returns operations; and recommerce, to help merchants recapture value from returned inventory and convert losses into profit.

Europe is emerging as a core growth engine for Return Helper. Following a foundational 2024, EU revenue grew 215% in 2025, surpassing internal targets. This trajectory has continued into 2026: first-quarter performance indicates the company is on pace for a projected 230% full-year increase over 2025, marking another year of triple-digit growth on an already elevated base. This growth is fueled by a rapidly expanding network of nearly 100 European merchant partners who rely on Return Helper to manage their cross-border returns. The pace of adoption mirrors a broader shift across the region, as more brands turn to Return Helper to transform international reverse logistics from a cost center into a competitive advantage.

The Strategic Value of Returns Management

E-commerce returns management, particularly for cross-border transactions, represents one of the most complex and costly challenges for merchants. Traditionally, returns have been viewed as an operational and financial burden, with manual and fragmented processes generating inefficiencies and value losses. Return Helper's approach, which integrates AI into every stage of the returns pipeline, demonstrates how technology can transform a problem into an opportunity.

For companies operating on a global scale, the ability to manage returns efficiently is not just a matter of cost reduction, but also of improving customer experience and business sustainability. Return Helper's investment in AI and international expansion underscores a broader trend in the logistics sector, where intelligent automation and process optimization are essential to address the complexities of modern commerce. This positions the company as a key player in redefining the value of reverse logistics for the digital economy.