Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led a series C round for US-based digital freight management service Flock Freight on Tuesday sized at approximately $114m.
GLP Capital Partners, GV and Volvo Group Venture Capital also took part in the round, on behalf of logistics property manager GLP, internet and technology group Alphabet and commercial vehicle manufacturer Volvo, alongside venture capital firm SignalFire.
Flock runs an online platform where users can book freight deliveries, guaranteeing customers their goods will travel as part of a shared truckload. The cash will be used to bolster the algorithmic pooling technology that powers its service.
Ervin Tu, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund 2, will take a board seat at Flock in conjunction with the round. The transaction valued the company at $500m post-money, a source told Bloomberg.
Tu said: “We are excited by Flock Freight’s innovative freight-pooling technology. Flock Freight is the first and only freight company to create a new shipping mode, using algorithms to pool multiple shipments together and transport them along the same route.
“As a result, Flock Freight is improving supply chain efficiency for hundreds of thousands of shippers. Our investment is intended to accelerate the company’s ability to scale its business and capture a greater share of the market.”
GLP Capital Partners and SignalFire co-led the company’s $50m series B round in February this year, adding to $40m of earlier funding from investors including GV, SignalFire, Karmel Capital and Foundation Capital.
