While the digital transformation is still to be realised in the European road freight market, many tech startups are working hard to push technological innovation forward in this segment in 2019.
Founded in 2016 by David Nothacker, Julius Koehler and Nicolaus Schefenacker, Berlin-based Sennder is one of them. The company is basically a platform and marketplace that connects commercial shippers with smaller freight carriers and it is growing really fast and claims to contribute highly to the $400 billion road freight industry in Europe.
Raises €62.4M funding
Now the news is in that Sennder has raised $70 million (nearly €62.4 million) Series C funding. This funding round was led by Lakestar (the company of Skype and Spotify investor Klaus Hommels) along with participation from Project A, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures (Flixbus investor), Accel, truck manufacturer Scania Growth Capital, H14 and Siemens’ Next47.
Sennder has raised total funding of $100 million (nearly €89.5 million) in 2019 following the Series B funding from Accel a few months back which was around $ 30 million (€26.7 million approx.). With this capital injection, the German logistics platform plans to expand into new markets and develop its technology and operational capabilities.
“The investments by venture capital firms Lakestar and Accel show that we have identified a massive challenge and its solution that will play a vital role for the future of the European logistics markets,” said Sennder co-founder Nicolaus Schefenacker.
Largest funding round for a German logistics startup!
Arguably, this is the largest investment round ever pumped into a German logistics startup. The other big investments in the industry include that of Flexport in the US from Softbank, Zencargo in the UK, FreightHub, Bringg and NEXT.
Real-time GPS tracker!
The digital trucking company digitalises the truck-loading-shipping ecosystem by providing mobile apps to drivers, fleet management tools to carrier managers and logistics management solutions to shippers. The software also provides real-time GPS tracking, continuously updates estimated arrival time (ETA) and automatic notifications of delays.
Transform the digital trucking business forever!
This platform emphasises on small and medium truck transportation companies and works directly when the owners of the trucks. Also, it focuses on small and mid-size trucking companies as well.
The German company wants to automate the sector which until now had been dependant on paper, phone, fax and was characterised by multi-layer sub-contracting. With this, Sennder aims to increase efficiency and reduce the cost for all stakeholders.
Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more updates in the tech startup world.
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