J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) announced Wednesday it is teaming up with venture group UP.Labs to create a logistics-focused technology incubator for startups looking to solve industry challenges.
“From the inception of modern intermodal transit to digital freight matching platforms to emerging safety technology and beyond, J.B. Hunt has always been people focused, technology empowered and capacity driven, and we’ve been on an innovation journey since our founding in 1961. … Our collaboration with UP.Labs will continue this journey as we look for new ways to disrupt, adapt and accelerate across the transportation industry,” said Shelley Simpson, president and CEO at J.B. Hunt, in a news release.
The Logistics Venture Lab will be looking for six companies to join its incubator over the next three years to focus on leveraging FreightTech within service areas including brokerage, dedicated transportation, intermodal and truckload freight.
Related: J.B. Hunt prioritizes balanced investment in tech and people
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with J.B. Hunt, a leader in the transportation and logistics industry,” said John Kuolt, founder and CEO of UP.Labs, in the news release. “Through the Logistics Venture Lab, we will launch startups rooted in big data, GenAI, and emerging technologies to solve industry problems with some of the world’s best entrepreneurs.”
Kuolt also celebrated UP.Labs’ previous successful investment partnerships with Porsche AG, which started in 2022, and Alaska Airlines, creating Airline Venture Lab in 2023
UP.Labs announced Wednesday as well that its partnership with Alaska Airlines committed $5 million to fund Odysee, an AI-powered flight schedule optimization solution.
This lab partnership with J.B. Hunt marks UP.Labs’ fourth innovation partnership.
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Chuck Kinsey
How many times can you invent the wheel? I’d be very interested in seeing what they have figured out to haul freight better, faster, safer and more secure than what’s been done over and over for centuries. Tech comes with a cost and for the most part I’ve seen little return on my investment over nearly 30 years in the industry.