Top Logistics Tech Companies in the US to Watch

What is supply chain technology? Digitization of the what? These were the common questions investors had just three years ago when they were still unfamiliar with innovations in the logistics space. 

Fast forward to the post-COVID era where on-demand commerce has disrupted e-commerce in ways we could have never imagined. To remain competitive in this new world order, it is a must for businesses with core logistics to ramp up their investments in all things tech. Fortunately for them, there has been a huge flow of capital into the logistics-tech sector in recent years, despite the difficult economic situation resulting from the pandemic. 

This year’s list of top companies to watch includes a great mix of high-growth scale-ups, small creative startups, and everything in between. In this round, we have focused on firms based in the United States. Check them out below!

Plus One Robotics

Plus One Robotics is the leading provider of vision software for logistics robots.  Keeping up with its mission of “always on” logistics, the company develops autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for warehouses and distribution centers. Through the implementation of Plus One robots, businesses can mitigate the persistent labor shortage while simultaneously bridging the gap between steady state volume and surge.

• Year Founded: 2016

• Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States

• Funding: $43.6M

• Key Backers: McRock Capital, Palo Alto, and Translink Capital

Nuro

Nuro is an autonomous delivery startup founded by two former Google engineers. Unlike its competitors,  Nuro focuses on creating self-driving vehicles for transporting goods instead of people.  Its service enables merchants to deliver goods to customers in a timely, cost-effective, and secure manner. As of today, the firm has already collaborated with big names like CVS, Domino’s and Walmart.

• Year Founded: 2016

• Location: Mountain View, California, United States

• Funding: $2.1B

• Existing Investors: Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Vision Fund 1 and Greylock among many others

Parcel Perform

Parcel Perform is the leading delivery experience platform that enables modern e-commerce enterprises to create unique end-to-end customer journeys and optimize logistics operations with powerful data integrations, parcel tracking, delivery notifications and logistics performance reports in real-time. 

Parcel Perform’s scalable SaaS platform executes more than 100M parcel updates daily and integrates with 800+ carriers. The data-first company is pioneering innovative ML / AI use cases in e-commerce logistics including its ‘Date of Arrival’ prediction engine. Parcel Perform is the partner of choice for top brands, marketplaces and carriers across all major verticals globally. 

• Year Founded: 2016

• Location: Global

• Funding: $21.5M

• Investors: Cambridge Capital, Softbank Ventures Asia, Wavemaker Partners, and Investible amongst others

Project44

Powered by a team of industry experts and talented visionaries, Project44 is transforming the real-time visibility market one step at a time. The Chicago-born logtech firm has created the leading advanced visibility platform for shippers and third-party logistics service providers around the world. Just last month, the company raised $420 million in equity funding that brought its valuation to a whopping $2.4 billion.

• Year Founded: 2014

• Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States

• Funding: $817.5M

• Most Recent Investors: TPG and Insight Partners

Pandion

Pandion is a Seattle-based e-commerce shipping startup that was founded by Scott Ruffin, Former Head of Amazon Air. The company has developed delivery management software to help e-commerce enterprises deal with shipping delays and optimize delivery networks, especially during peak periods. With machine learning at the foundation of their work, Pandion is building the next-generation delivery network that pleases both shippers and end-customers.

• Year Founded: 2020

• Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

• Funding: $34.9M

• Investors:A total of 6 investors including Innovation Endeavors, Telstra Ventures and Playground Global

Convoy

Convoy touts itself as the nation’s leading digital freight network that “is transporting the world with endless capacity and zero waste. Defined by their 12 company values, the team aims to not just raise the bar on tools and knowledge available for shippers and carriers, but also find ways to better facilitate collaboration between them. By leveraging technology and automation, Convoy is committed to solving the fundamental problems of waste and inefficiency in freight. 

• Year Founded: 2015

• Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

• Funding: $675.5M

• Existing Investors: Generation Investment Management, Y Combinator, T. Rowe Price, etc.

Natilus

Natilus is a California-based autonomous cargo drone developer that is reinventing the over 70-year-old status quo of freight transportation. Through innovation and advanced technologies, the tech firm aims to make air freight costs more affordable while simultaneously improving delivery efficiency. Earlier this month, the company revealed that it has received $6 billion worth of advance orders from an array of aviation clients including Volatus Aerospace and Aurora International.

• Year Founded: 2015

• Location: San Diego, California, United States

• Funding: $750K

• Investors: 7 Including Flucas Ventures, Beni VC, and Outpost Capital

Starship Technologies

Starship Technologies is redefining the last-mile delivery space with its fleet of self-driving robots for local distributions. Equipped with a sensor suite that contains cameras, GPS and inertial measurement units, their robots move at pedestrian speed to make safe and environmentally-friendly deliveries. Thanks to Starship’s proprietary technology, we are now one step further into the new era of instant delivery. 

• Year Founded: 2014

• Location: San Francisco, California, United States

• Funding: $155.7M

• Investors: 19 including Morpheus Ventures, TDK Ventures and Superangel

Flock Freight

Using algorithmic pooling technology, Flock Freight enables less-than-truckload shippers to share trailer space in one full truckload. With human-centric logistics management, Flock Freight provides a customizable shipping experience to fulfill each company’s requirements. In fact, the company seamlessly pools any freight to discover the best route, avoiding terminals and problematic offloads, ensuring that a shipment arrives safely and without damage. As a result, every shipment is assured to arrive on time.

• Year Founded: 2015

• Location: Solana Beach, California, United States

• Funding: $399M

• Investors: SoftBank Vision Fund, Google Ventures and K2 Global among many others

Arrive Logistics

Arrive Logistics is a carrier and customer-focused logistics firm that concentrates on setting a new standard for freight transportation by providing unparalleled service, seamless technology, and tailored strategic solutions. As one of the fastest-growing freight brokerages in the United States, Arrive comprises the industry’s top talent that is in a relentless pursuit for perfection.

• Year Founded: 2014

• Location: Austin, Texas, United States

• Funding: $335M

• Key Backers: ATL Partners and Lead Edge Capital

Want to learn about other top-performing logistics and transportation companies in Asia? Check out our previous article here!

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