Spanish tech startup Ontruck secures €17M funding to transform future of freight

Spanish mobility startup Ontruck which is Europe’s well-known digital road freight platform, has secured an investment round of €17 million led by OGCI Climate Investments (OGCI CI). Existing Ontruck investors, Cathay Innovation, Atomico, Idinvest Partners and Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, participated in the round, with Endeavor Catalyst joining as a new investor.

Ontruck is one such logistics and transport company, whose goal is to build a network of carriers with high efficiency by using technology.

OGCI CI’s investment will accelerate the development of Ontruck’s transport network and technology through the injection of capital. Ontruck will also seek to leverage the expertise and resources of OGCI’s members to achieve a common goal of developing, implementing and scaling innovative low carbon solutions in commercial transportation. These industry members include BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell and Total.

To date, Madrid-based Ontruck has cut the percentage of kilometres driven by vehicles running without cargo from 44% – the industry average – to 19%. This achievement, which prevented 728,000 kgs of C02 emissions from entering the atmosphere^[1], consolidates the platform’s position as a market leader in providing sustainable transport solutions.

“We are honoured to welcome on board OGCI Climate Investments as a new investor”, says Iñigo Juantegui, CEO and co-founder of Ontruck. “OGCI CI shares our vision to drive a step-change in efficiency across the €600 billion trucking industry in Europe, and reduce the millions of tons of carbon emissions generated by trucks driving empty each year. Our partnership with OGCI Climate Investments and the potential to leverage our technology through OGCI’s members will accelerate our ability to build a new future for logistics in Europe, one that is efficient, transparent and sustainable”.

Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, said “We are pleased to add Ontruck to our portfolio of low-carbon solutions. Ontruck’s technology demonstrates that increased efficiency can have an immediate and substantial impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. We look forward to helping them achieve greater scale faster.”

Since 2016, Ontruck’s first-to-market innovations have transformed the logistics industry to create the most efficient and socially responsible platform for road transport.

The startup’s zero-touch load matching of shipments to carriers has fully automated 90% of loads in main regions while providing greater flexibility for shippers by assuring 100% capacity even in urgent situations. This is done using data algorithms to predict peak demand, routing shipments to maximize carrier utilisation, and dynamic pricing to balance the marketplace.

In four years, the company has reinforced its European footprint with operations in Spain, the UK, France, and the Netherlands with further plans for expansion. The startup is powered by an executive team that combines a diversity of expertise from the start-up world, including founders who have guided companies to successful exits together with seasoned executives from logistic powerhouses such as Uber, CH Robinson and XPO Logistics.

With offices in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris, and Amsterdam, Ontruck has built trusted partnerships with the largest companies in Europe, such as Auchan, Pepsico, P&G, Codorniu, GBFoods, CHEP and Decathlon.

Main image credits: Ontruck

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