Startups

Two-year-old SpeedX is entering the international logistics sector with the acquisition of Accelerated Global Solutions.

Nikola lays of 135 workers as it seeks to preserve its financial runway.

Xiaodi Hou was cast as a villain in the decline into irrelevance of autonomous trucking developer TuSimple. He sees it differently.

Startup carrier Global Crossing Airlines is partnering with FreightTech startup Airblox to start a nonstop freighter service between Chicago and Puerto Rico.

The lanes are getting longer for autonomous trucks and the promise of greater profitability is predicted to follow.

ChargePoint cuts 200-plus jobs in second downsizing of 2024 after tough second quarter earnings report,

As electrification and infrastructure startups mature, banks get interested in lending money to help the best of them grow.

With fuel cell trucks on the road, Nikola is changing the game, but will it be enough to survive?

Altana closed on a $200 million investment Tuesday to accelerate its supply chain and risk management product development.

Kodiak Robotics is delaying commercial on-highway driverless trucks to focus on autonomy in the Permian Basin.

Cambridge Capital sees promise in helping retailers audit costs and invoices with Stat Recovery.

This week: A Greek company raises $16 million to make vessel disbursement practices easier, Candor Expedite invests in cold chain technology and driver recruiters leverage AI in operations.

This week, FreightVana offers a Visa card to its carrier network, SPS Commerce makes an acquisition and we review Symbotic’s Q1 results in the robotics space.

FleetPulse has spun off from trailer OEM Great Dane and hired industry executives to lead the independent company.

AI software provider Paxafe looks to continue its strategic partnership strategy while expanding globally and building its sales team.

Open-deck transportation marketplace EXO Freight closed its physical office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and laid off most of its employees to focus on improving its technology for enterprise shippers and their managed services.

Drones offer various inventory management solutions, including audits, cycle counting and stock taking.

Today’s FreightTech roundup takes a look at HEALE Labs’ goal to improve data sharing with digital currency, PrincetonTMX’s partnership with Loop and other highlights of the week.

Seattle-based OpenTug says it serviced over 3 million tons of marine cargo across 25,000 miles of U.S. marine highways in 2023.

Isometric Technologies announced the winners of its third annual service excellence awards.

This feature empowers GoodShip’s shippers to craft personalized constraints, aligning with supply chain goals for optimal, strategic procurement decisions.

The undisclosed investment will support Optym’s enhance of transportation optimization solutions.

Matt Silver launches US-Mexico logistics startup Cargado with $3 million in pre-seed funding.

FreightWaves spoke with experts from across the supply chain about technology lessons learned in 2023 and what strategies will succeed in 2024.

Will Urban has joined the board of LuckyTruck, a company that uses historical truck data and automation to provide an insurance management platform.

“It is no longer grow at all costs. We must be more efficient with our resources and cognizant of your overhead,” says Zelh’s Jeff Ogren

“It’s a more challenging market now, so we want founders who are going to be able to grind,” says Autotech Ventures’ Todd Fowler.

Terminal’s founders, CEO Raghav Midha and CTO Connor Giles, bonded through a passion for fintech and trucking.

Freight brokerage Convoy shut down in October. Carriers say the brokerage didn’t pay them for loads they completed.

Solvento Audita streamlines payment processes for Mexican trucking entities, offering transparency through API integration and addressing tax regulations.

The electric grid holds more potential for electric truck charging than utilities currently allow. A big rethink is under way.

The founder of Isometric Technologies describes the company’s goal of building the FICO score for freight.

Israeli tech startups count on losing some employees to military reserve duty. Many more are called during wartime.

Torc Robotics has the autonomous truck nearly ready. Now comes the hard work of making a business from it.

Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton is seeking probation instead of prison on his federal fraud convictions.

Hyzon Motors is focused on launching its 200-kilowatt fuel cell for heavy trucks now that its legal problems are mostly resolved.

FourKites’ president is no longer with the company. He joined in April. The visibility platform announced other new leaders on Wednesday.

Fillogic leverages what it has coined “channel-free logistics,” a competing fulfillment model to the traditional omnichannel experience.

FreightWaves’ Rachel Premack spoke with OTR Solutions’ EVP Clayton Griffin about the current state of freight brokerages and the risk they pose to carriers.

This year’s list saw a sizable shake-up, with 17 newcomers and a high number of mainstays being left off the FreightTech 25.

Flexport would hire a small team of Convoy employees and take on its technology stack. That could keep the trucking startup’s app functioning for customers.

A review of the state of SPAC-sponsored and other electrification startup shows a less-than-pretty picture.

Find out who the unsung FreightTech disrupters are and how they provide unique tools to help shippers.

The ultra-buzzy trucking startup Convoy could have fixed trucking. Instead, it shut down suddenly to the shock of industry insiders.

With over two decades of experience in logistics, Regan Daniels’ evolution is a story of adaptability and a pursuit of efficiency.

Startup Flipturn really was named for the swimming maneuver. Now it wants to make trucking electrification just as smooth.

Hyzon Motors agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission fraud case.

Zerobroker’s fundraising round saw participation from freight forwarder Flexport, FundersClub and Streamlined Ventures.

Stack AV founder Bryan Selesky is keeping most of the details of his autonomous trucking startup to himself for now.

Swedish startup Einride reduces the carbon footprint of its trucking customers by matching electric trucks with available chargers.

Startup software developer Waabi, a late entry to autonomous trucking, has a 10-year deal to haul on the Uber Freight network.

Nikola asks customers with electric trucks under recall for potential battery fires to return them to its plant.

The prominent former Amazon executive agreed to resign from the CEO role. Flexport founder Ryan Petersen will take back his role. 

Former Amazon executive Dave Clark told FreightWaves that Flexport founder Ryan Petersen wants to redirect Flexport’s mission.

A third Nikola battery-electric truck burst into flames inside a lithium supplier’s building, but the company says recalled trucks are still safe to drive.

RCG Logistics will immediately be integrated under the Acertus brand.

Just as scaling McDonald’s was more about real estate than hamburgers, electric truck charging is as much about land as it is about the grid.

Carey Mendes, a former oil executive leading’s Nikola’s pursuit of a hydrogen distribution network, has resigned.

Veteran business leader Steve Girsky acknowledges challenges but points to Q4 as the culmination of fuel cell truck startup Nikola’s efforts.

The TruckParkingClub.com application now provides real-time reservable parking sites at 143 rest stops and 120 premium locations for overnight, multi-night and up to monthly stays.

Moves similar to blackjack tactics describe how cash-poor transportation startups are grasping for new capital.

Hyliion Holdings has enough cash and investments to run its business through 2024 without raising new capital.

Hyzon Motors is willing to consider selling itself or merging to keep making progress on its fuel cell system.

Asset sales in Q2 helped Nikola add cash to its balance sheet, but losses widened as ramp-up of fuel cell trucks consumed cash.

Could Kodiak leverage some of the work Navistar has in on a redundant chassis for a Class 8 autonomous truck?

J.B. Hunt Transport is helping Nikola reduce its inventory of battery-electric trucks and adding to the order bank for fuel cell models.

Investor confidence coincidentally clashes with an executive’s stock sales at autonomous trucking developer.

Other charging infrastructure startups have more resources but WattEV has an early advantage in making charging available.

Capital markets that have been freezing out mobility startups may be thawing with Aurora Innovation raising $820 million in new funding.

According to Terminal Industries, 92% of yards lack technology solutions to eliminate wasted capacity, drive down unforeseen costs and improve inventory operations, leading to $146 billion in excess transportation costs.

Nikola won’t need any more shareholders to vote for a share count increase because a Delaware rule change lowers the threshold.

“I think this acquisition sends the message to the market that we are here to add real value,” said Ship Angel founder Graham Parker.

Daimler Truck forecasts a sunny outlook for its business, especially in North America and Europe.

Losers among transportation startups are rapidly being defined, It will take longer to determine the winners.

Less than a year after purchasing Romeo Power to secure its battery supply, Nikola is liquidating the subsidiary.

Speedcargo seeks out hidden cargo space among airfreight providers.

After originally working with TuSimple, Loadsmith picks Kodiak Robotics for autonomous driving systems.

Vizion’s solution allows users to receive tracking updates for all containers across both ocean and rail without a letter of authorization.

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Justin Bailie told FreightWaves that Rose Rocket has seen 47x growth since its last raise in 2021 by focusing on product-led expansion.

Battery chemistry will play a critical role in advancing electric trucking beyond regional and drayage hauling.

Autonomous trucking software developer TuSimple completed a driverless truck pilot on a U.S. highway in 2021. Now it has done it in China.

Hyzon Motors is not out of the woods yet, but it is current on required financial filings and has streamlined its fuel cell business.

Lightning eMotors identifies electrifying small school buses and shuttle vans as its niche. Scaling depends on finding new capital.

The outcome of Nikola’s bid to double the number of authorized shares in the company could determine its ability to survive.

Jim Waters, Frayt’s vice president of marketing, said the company’s survey highlighted the growing need for last-mile services; 37% of respondents said 50% of their logistics operations fell into the last-mile category.

Class 5 electric trucks have a broad customer base and a lot of manufacturers chasing the space where regulation comes soon.

Embark Technology, an early leader in autonomous trucking software development, becomes part of Applied Intuition in a $71 million deal.

Nikola has a minimum of 180 days to get its share price above $1 or it could be delisted from the Nasdaq.

Freightos, an online reservation portal for freight shippers, is adding users, but heavy development costs and a weak shipping market make it difficult for the startup to reduce losses.

Lordstown Motors dodged delisting from the Nasdaq by a reverse stock split, but its future remains murky.

“We want [global shipping] to be self-explanatory, easy to navigate and easy for you to find the answer you are looking for,” says Maja Bernstein, vice president of industry relations at Fluent Cargo.

Transportation startups that went for easy SPAC money never thought times would turn so ugly – certainly not so fast.

Autonomous trucking software developer TuSimple will disappear from the Nasdaq on Monday as it is delisted for financial filings failure.

Nikola will get $35 million in cash and 20.6 million of its shares from ending a joint venture with Europe’s Iveco Group, but ties remain.

“Once shippers get up and running on GoodShip, they invite their carriers onto the platform. This creates a multiplayer experience where each party has access to modern analytics, creating a single source of truth,” says CEO Ryan Soskin.

Electric truck maker Nikola will get 50 Hyla-branded hydrogen fueling stations in a five-year deal with infrastructure developer Voltera.

Kodiak Robotics bought a Peterbilt Model 579EV to marry its autonomous system with electric propulsion. It is using the truck in testing.

Tracking trailer inventory was always part of Outrider’s autonomous distribution yard plan. Now, it is happening.

“We could make carriers’ lives easier by giving them a single tool that they can use to make sure that they are not missing any hiring steps,” said LogRock co-founder and CEO Hunter Yaw.

Nikola Corp.’s hopes for a zero-emissions trucking future may be realized without the startup being part of it.