FreightWaves, a provider of data and news for global freight markets, Monday announced that it has raised $21 million in a Series B financing round, bringing its total funding to $40 million. The round was led by 8VC, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has participated in FreightWaves’ capital raises beginning with its seed round in late 2017, when the company began commercial operations.
“This round was entirely opportunistic and was initiated because we had a great deal of strategic interest from very important partners,” said Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves. “Our cash position was very healthy before the round, boosted by the growth of our operating cash flow due to the performance of the business over the past year. Our SONAR SaaS product continues to grow at monthly double-digit rates as clients experience the value of fast data and increasing visibility into the transportation and freight markets.”
Most notably, this round of financing saw participation from new, large strategic investors, including Hearst Ventures, the venture capital arm of leading global, diversified media, information and services conglomerate, Hearst; and Prologis Ventures, the venture capital arm of Prologis, Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate with operations in 19 countries across four continents.
Hearst has decades of experience in using data and editorial content to drive subscription-based recurring revenue offerings for clients in transportation and financial markets. FreightWaves operates at the intersection of commercial transportation and financial markets and will benefit from the related expertise at Hearst to develop more sophisticated models, content and distribution.
“FreightWaves combines powerful industry-specific data and analytics with fresh commentary, unique insights and risk management solutions that help decision-makers across the freight ecosystem make better operational decisions,” said Hearst Ventures Managing Director David Famolari.
Prologis Ventures has been making venture investments since 2016 with a focus on next-generation solutions for addressing how the future flow of goods will affect global supply chains and the evolving needs of logistics customers. Other potential areas of investment include sustainability and construction, business intelligence and real estate technology.
“Prologis Ventures has been working closely with the FreightWaves team to map out electronic logging device (ELD) location data,” said Prologis Ventures managing partner Will O’Donnell. “We expect to leverage this data to understand how logistics facilities can operate more efficiently by improving the interaction of trucking companies, shippers and warehouse operators across the many facets of the modern supply chain.”
Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund also participated in the latest round of financing. The ROTR Seed Fund first invested in FreightWaves when the company won the Rise of the Rest pitch competition in Chattanooga in May 2018. Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund invests in high-growth companies that, like FreightWaves, are scaling outside of the coastal tech hubs.
“In the Third Wave of the internet, entrepreneurs seeking to disrupt major real-world industries will focus on scaling in cities where that sector expertise resides," said Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution and founder of Rise of the Rest. "They will also rely on key partnerships to provide credibility and industry guidance. FreightWaves embodies both of these concepts by combining Chattanooga’s history of logistics expertise with data from collaborations with some of the most important participants in the transportation ecosystem.”
Bob Corker, former U.S. Senator for Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also participated in the round as an investor.
“Chattanooga is a transportation and logistics hub, and I am proud to see another homegrown company that is already making an impact in the world of freight,” said Mr. Corker. “I am excited for Craig Fuller and his team and wish them great success as they continue to build their company.”
Mr. Fuller believes that the company’s business model is relevant on a global basis.
“Supply chains are increasingly globally connected, and we are just starting to understand how one market or mode impacts another,” said Mr. Fuller. “Consumers care less and less about where products are sourced or how they get them, so long as they are responsibly and transparently sourced and transported. Our goal is to combine modal-agnostic freight data from sources all over the world and provide market context.”
The round also included every institutional investor that has previously participated, including Fontinalis Ventures, the mobility venture fund founded by Bill Ford; Pritzker Group Venture Capital; Ascend Venture Capital; Story Ventures; and Engage Ventures. Kelvin Beachum, offensive tackle for the New York Jets, also continued his investment in FreightWaves with additional participation.
The company will deploy the funds to expand data and transparency products beyond trucking to include air, rail, maritime, port, warehousing, and global expansion.