Led by SoftBank Latin America Fund, with Additional Investor Funds and Accounts Managed by BlackRock, Janus Henderson Group and CSX Corporation
Loadsmart, a leading freight technology company, today announced it has closed a $200 million round of Series D financing led by SoftBank Latin America Fund, part of the SoftBank Group, with participation from Series C investor funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, rail transportation supplier CSX Corporation, and global active asset manager Janus Henderson Group. The significant cash infusion now values the company at $1.3 billion, more than three times its Series C valuation just over one year ago.
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Loadsmart leverages technology to build efficiency around how freight is priced, booked and shipped. The company introduced the first transparent instant pricing and booking experience for truckload shippers in the U.S., and created the first API framework for its distribution, which is now becoming the new industry standard.
Since its founding, Loadsmart has maintained a pragmatic tech-first approach to growth and has refused to subsidize demand to acquire volume. This strategy continues to allow for capital-efficient, sustainable and resilient growth, driven by technology, operational excellence and strategic partnerships that provide true value-added services to its customers. Since its initial focus on truckload services, the company has expanded beyond full truckload (FTL) shipments to other modes that include less than truckload (LTL), partial truckload, and rail. Additionally, Loadsmart now offers software solutions, such as freight procurement software (RFP Guide), a trucking ERP system (Kamion) and a leading standalone dock appointment solution for warehouses (OpenDock), creating a true platform for freight efficiency.
Loadsmart’s carrier network has grown to more than 680,000 trucks, its freight procurement software processes hundreds of millions of dollars in freight, and 600,000 dock appointments have been scheduled through its software in the past month alone. The company has access to more than $2bn of freight per quarter via its API integrations, a 20x increase over the previous two years.
“As a pioneer in digital freight technology, Loadsmart has built a best in class, scalable platform that offers multimodal digital services to customers across the supply chain,” said Carlos Medeiros, investment partner at SoftBank Latin America Fund. “We are thrilled to lead this round of investment and work with Felipe, Ricardo and their talented team as they continue to digitize the supply chain to move the logistics industry into the future.”
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Efficiencies created by Loadsmart not only increase customer productivity and financial returns but are creating a more sustainable, environmentally friendly supply chain. Loadsmart enables customers to dramatically reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by saving fuel, eliminating idling and empty miles, and connecting intermodal options that decrease environmental impact.
“CSX is continually developing innovative solutions for further reducing emissions by converting freight from highway to rail,” said Kevin Boone, executive vice president of sales and marketing at CSX. “As an environmental leader in an industry that plays an important strategic role in the low-carbon economy, CSX is excited for the opportunity to invest in a company like Loadsmart that is creating a more sustainable supply chain by eliminating empty miles and offering multimodal solutions to shippers that generate substantial value for customers.”
Loadsmart works closely with customers and other industry partners to provide solutions that address the needs of shippers while ensuring carriers across all modes of transport are able to run efficiently and effectively, providing a healthy and transparent environment in which everyone benefits.
“We have repeatedly witnessed the digital transformation of traditional industries, such as banking, travel, healthcare, and education, that lead to extraordinary improvements in performance and efficiency,” said Ricardo Salgado, Loadsmart co-founder and co-CEO. “The logistics industry is ripe for similar transformation, as it remains heavily reliant on analog systems and processes that create fragmentation and prohibit collaboration. The future of the supply chain and logistics industry rely on digitization and automation where Loadsmart is leading the way.”
Loadsmart plans to use the funds of this recent investment to rapidly expand its technology offerings, connecting shippers, carriers, brokers and warehouses to increase efficiency and transparency.
Loadsmart’s suite of investors now includes the largest ocean carrier in the world, the largest port terminal operator in the U.S., one of the largest transportation and logistics companies in North America and one of the nation’s leading rail transportation suppliers. The strategic investment from CSX Corp., combined with past investments from Maersk, TFI International and Ports America will allow for continued collaboration and idea sharing with foremost leaders in transportation and logistics.
“As a result of our ability to combine new technology with deep industry expertise, we experienced 134 percent year-over-year revenue growth in 2021. Shippers have seen the benefit of working with us to address increased demand, tackle their supply chain inefficiencies, and solve for a lack of digital solutions,” said Salgado.
“Our strategy has always been founded on leading with technology and focusing on the customer. We chose a distinct growth path by betting on technology adoption, API integrations and a very disciplined approach to resource allocation, rather than relying on freight subsidies and expensive sales blitzscaling. This strategy is now paying off,” said Felipe Capella, Loadsmart co-founder and co-CEO. “This funding accelerates Loadsmart’s ability to expand our technology team further to continue creating true value-add solutions that help our customers move more with less.”
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