Startups

Apart from creating visibility and transparency within coffee supply chains, blockchain can significantly improve livelihoods of coffee farmers by giving them a bigger share of the profit pie.

Dallas-based KoiReader Technologies has raised $60,000 in seed funding, Dallas Innovates reports. The money will be used to build the company’s artificial intelligence-driven automation and video feed data capture suite […]

Data’s role in improving operational efficiency within the freight industry is growing bigger, even as security concerns around keeping data secure is mounting.

Coord provides a platform to analyze, share, and collect curbside data.

The company launches today, with Walmart as a partner.

Apple is looking to buy autonomous driving technology startup Drive.ai, which might help the company gain ground against its bigger competitors in the self-driving niche.

CharterSync provides freight forwarders a quick way to source aircraft within the air cargo charter market.

Freightos will offer real-time quotes and booking on Europe’s third-largest air carrier as part of the company’s growing online freight marketplace. IAG Group, the holding company for British Airways and […]

The technology provides a low cost alternative to GPS tracking.

The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s efforts to improve fuel efficiency in the trucking industry.

Oversize helps brokers and fleets save time that is needlessly spent navigating the complex regulatory landscape of carrying overdimensional cargo.

Mothership uses historical driver data and machine learning to “intelligently dispatch” trucks working the last mile freight market.

A report indicates that the EU is slow to adopt alternate truck fuels. Indian logistics startups are flourishing. Chinese logistics firms that help Chinese businesses relocate are winners in the US-China trade war.

Fullbay has created a heavy-duty shop management software that helps shop owners create instant invoices, attract technicians, and truly satisfy customers.

Zipline operates autonomous drones across remote areas that are hard to reach by road, airlifting medicines during emergencies.

Today on WTT we take a deep dive into the Idaho Hemp Trucker fiasco with journalist, Linda Baker, CEO Jacob Findlay has some huge news concerning FullBay, McLeod announces two new products, plus all the latest headlines, Big Deal, Little Deal, and the very first Comment Section Rodeo!

All this and more now on WTT?!?

Freight matching startup SmartHop has built a technology platform that helps truckers plan, search and book their loads in a fraction of the time it takes to sift through traditional load boards.

Amazon.com is the lead partner in a $575 million Series G funding round for UK food delivery firm Deliver

Einride has introduced a Level 4 autonomous electric truck that will transport cargo between a warehouse and a terminal in DB Schenker’s facility.

project44 has introduced two new applications that are automating shipment tracking and bringing visibility into siloed operations.

Cargo Chief provides freight brokers with a booking bot that gets carrier offers, counter-bids on loads and autonomously books load on consent.

Haven is introducing a track and trace solution that is both affordable and seamless to integrate within shipping workflows.

Two of the most-anticipated initial public offerings (IPOs) of the year have not gone exactly as planned, but what does that mean for other marketplace-style startups in the freight and […]

addvantage USA injects a specific amount of LPG in the engine air intake to increase fuel efficiency and reduce NOx emissions.

Market expert Brian Aoaeh explains why all of us should be rooting for Uber, Lyft and other startups. Read why!

After a decade of disrupting urban mobility, Uber finally opens up for its initial public offering (IPO) at the NYSE on May 10.

FreightWaves Radio’s eleventh national show was broadcast on Saturday, May 4 on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Channel 146. Unlike other industry-specific radio shows that often have particular messaging or lobbying aims, […]

Drivent is a self-driving technology company that is creating a suite of solutions that integrate with autonomous vehicles and provide exceptional user experiences.

If lab-grown meat substitutes for farm-grown meat and is commercially successful, it will lead to a drastic reduction in freight ton-miles.

On-demand warehousing company Flexe announced a $43 million Series B funding round on May 7.

The afternoon block of freight technology demonstrations at Transparency19 in Atlanta May 6 brought home the value of information technology in optimizing the basic blocking-and-tackle functions that could make or […]

Dolly has raised $7.5 million in Series B funding, which is expected to expedite Dolly’s entrance into new markets and also help grow its operational and technical teams.

Kuebix has now integrated Emerge’s private freight matching marketplace into its platform, allowing its users to access broader truckload capacity for their shipping needs.

The raise adds to the flurry of activity that has hit the digital freight forwarding space since the beginning of 2019.

BlackBuck has raised a total of $285.2 million till date and is looking to expand its services across India, without worrying much into its growing losses.

Uber stands to gain by avoiding wage and benefit costs that accompany workers classified as employees.

Zūm announced it secured additional funding from new investor Citi Ventures to help double its national footprint by 2020

Transparency19 is just a few days away. Quick-fire demonstrations are a big part of the program; read why in this article, and if you haven’t bought a ticket yet, please do so!

McKinsey has brought out a report that talks about how increasing passenger density in urban spaces is a strong indicator for an increase in ridesharing demand in the decade ahead.

A panel in Blockchain Expo 2019 spoke on how blockchain solutions can be used for increasing transparency, profitability and provenance in supply chains across a variety of markets.

Waymo is setting up the world’s first production facility in Detroit that manufactures Level 4 autonomous vehicles.

Elon Musk has stated that Tesla would be launching fully autonomous cars by the end of this year, and that he expects to see one million autonomous Tesla cars on the road by 2020.

The trucking technology provider will use the funds to ramp up hiring, hardware investments, new  partnerships and advancements in machine learning.

The funds will be used to scale its warehouse robotics system, as well as expand sales and marketing in North America and internationally.

Datapace is the latest company to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Learn more about Datapace and BiTA in this article.

Uber is planning to sell 14 percent stake on its autonomous driving division for $1 billion to investment firm Softbank, automaker Toyota, and auto parts manufacturer Denso.

STORD simplifies the distribution experience of shippers by networking with warehouses and carriers, and providing shippers with warehousing capacity and transportation based on their needs.

FleetZoo is a delivery and service optimization startup that is solving the last-mile problem by providing a solution that lets companies optimize and visualize all their delivery routes in a matter of minutes.

LA caught between straits of labor and capital; group looks for ocean freight’s Esperanto; and digital-first forwarder gets $20m funding.

Nikola Motors has the potential to disrupt the freight industry by building hydrogen fuel powered trucks and by setting up hydrogen fuel stations all across North America.

The total amount of investment during the first quarter – $1.6 billion – is more than half of the $2.9 billion in venture capital invested for the full year 2018.

Considering that Singapore has over 20,000 people per square mile, it may be prudent for the city-state to consider air taxis as an urban mobility option.

Flowspace helps companies source on-demand warehousing space, allowing them to scale up rapidly and concentrate on gaining more customers, rather than stagnate with the burden of finding warehouses to stock products.

With this acquistion, TeleSense will help drive the automation of the grain supply chain and expand its footprint across Europe.

A recent article in Landline Magazine suggested that Truckstop.com’s new VC partner could merge the load board with Convoy or Uber Freight. This is unlikely to happen.

Not long after its IPO, Lyft is removing electric bikes from the markets of New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco after reports of problems with the vehicles’ brakes.

Cocoa farming in Africa witnesses a lot of forced and child labor, which can be eliminated if the stakeholders within chocolate supply chains can have transparency on end-to-end operations.

WebCargo by Freightos has acquired India-based Air Freight Bazaar, with the intent of expanding its footstep in global air cargo digitalization.

Albertsons Companies is now part of the IBM Food Trust network, and plans to use blockchain in tracking its food produce from the farm to its store shelves.

The pending IPO comes as many experts are questioning the profitability of the ride-share model.

Amazon’s outsize presence in Seattle has yet to translate into a new wave of start-ups but that is expected to change as the tech giant’s relationship with the city enters a new phase and the region’s venture capital ecosystem matures.

Inxeption introduces Zippy Freight, a new service that helps B2B merchants get shipping costs and complexity under control and obtain flexible logistics options.

sennder has raised investment to expand its digital freight markeplace footprint across Europe.

Truck Parking Europe displays more than 34,000 parking spaces across Europe, and has over a million downloads on its smartphone application.

With new backing from Microsoft, start-up readies for technical and geographic expansion of optimization services for shipping assets.

Sabrewing Aircraft Company has developed an unmanned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo aircraft that is now closer to being a commercial reality, with it getting an order for 10 aircraft from the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI).

A digital logistics startup that helps trucking companies automate workflow has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Goldcrest Capital and 8VC.

Shipwell has introduced a digital loadboard for shippers and carriers, where shippers can bid on loads or instantly book shipments with a “book now” functionality.

Breakout List curates a list of startups that have a high possibility of success, thus making it easier for startup-inclined people to choose a company they would want to work in.

The momentum is strongest in developing countries, where concerns about pollution and traffic congestion are mounting.

Fast Radius, a leading manufacturing technology company, has announced its Series B financing round of $48 million led by UPS, with strong insider participation from Drive Capital.

TheLorry connects thousands of shippers with truck, pickup truck and van owners across southeast Asia.

The momentum is strongest in developing countries, where concerns about pollution and traffic congestion are mounting.

Many food chains in the U.S. are shutting stores down due to lack of diners. It is time they take remote consumers seriously and look to sell food via last-mile food delivery companies.

Participants included Maersk Growth, the capital venture arm of the shipping giant Maersk, and Alstin Fund II from the Maschmeyer Group.

Exceeding expectations, the ride-hailing start-up Lyft raised $2.3 billion on March 28, after pricing its shares at $72, the top of its pricing range.

In partnership with Reliance Partners …Before autonomous driving systems are commercially available, it is essential to not just work on functional safety but also on cyber security, so as to ensure that the vehicle is completely safe to drive around once deployed.

India-based logistics startup Delhivery has secured $413 million in new funding with Japan’s SoftBank leading the round.

“We’re looking at finding ideas and turning them into billion-dollar companies and working with key leaders in the industry to help them take advantage of the technologies.”

Uber has confirmed speculations of its acquisition of Middle East on-demand cab hailing company Careem, with the company now becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber. The transaction is expected to be completed by Q1 2020.

Hwy Haul is a freight logistics startup that uses data science and optimization algorithms to connect carrier capacity with freight volumes over a digital trucking marketplace.

The company also announced the opening of a manufacturing facility in San Francisco’s Mission District that will soon have the capacity to produce several thousand sensors a month.

Nikola Motors is setting up its hydrogen truck manufacturing plant in Arizona, which is expected to roughly bring  about 2,000 jobs by 2024.

Uber is in talks with Middle Eastern on-demand cab hailing rival Careem for an acquisition deal that is expected to be made public this week.

Venture investing in autonomous vehicles continues to heat up, and as startups mature expect late stage investing to increase.

With widespread adoption and government backing, hydrogen fuel cells could be an economically viable alternative to bunker fuel in the maritime industry, especially after the IMO sulfur cap regulation kicks in by 2020.

Kenya-based startup Lori has built a logistics platform that is revolutionising the cargo-transport value chain in Africa by seamlessly connecting cargo owners, shippers and transporters via a digital freight marketplace.

Kargo Technologies is an online freight logistics marketplace that connects commercial shippers with truckers across Indonesia.

Israeli-based maritime startup Orca AI provides uses artificial intelligence and data analytics to prevent ships from colliding with obstacles while at sea.

The vehicle adds to the increasingly crowded last-mile delivery vehicle space, now featuring robotic, bicycle and scooter entrants.

“It’s an elegant, beautiful, simple solution for storing energy, so much better than batteries. You break down water; you put it back together.”

The Leaf platform allows shippers and carriers to enter into so-called “forward contracts” – the buying and selling of future transportation capacity.

Recently uncovered case files from the Waymo vs Otto trade secret theft case, reveal Uber’s optimism with self-driving cars in 2016, which included the company envision running 75,000 self-driving vehicles across 13 cities by 2022.

Cities witness an increasing number of smart and connected vehicles on its roads, making it extremely crucial for the transportation ecosystem to wake up to the reality of auto cyberattacks.

MatchBack Systems provides an innovative approach to manage shipping container costs and improve efficiency optimization through the use of matchbacks.

CargoX and dexFreight, the two blockchain logistics companies will collaborate in offering digital bill of lading solutions and cost-effective logistics operations.

“The Marines have embraced this because it saves lives and makes them the most lethal, most effective fighting force the world has ever known.”