uShip raises $25m from investors

The shipping marketplace and freight automation software provider raised $25 million through a “Series D” round of funding led by the logistics and supply chain company DB Schenker, which is also a uShip customer.    Austin, Texas-based uShip, an online shipping marketplace and freight automation software provider, said it has raised $25 million through a “Series D” round of funding led by the logistics and supply chain company DB Schenker, which is also a uShip customer.
   uShip said it has raised $50 million to date, with previous rounds led by Benchmark Capital in 2005 and 2007, DAG Ventures in 2007, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers in 2013.
   uShip said that last July, it announced a five-year agreement worth tens of millions to create “Drive4Schenker,” an online trucking platform, powered by uShip PRO, uShip’s enterprise freight automation technology. Earlier this month, ‘Drive4Schenker’ launched in Germany and will continue to roll out across Europe. uShip said it will optimize management of 5,000 loads per day with 30,000 DB Schenker transport providers.
   “Expanding our successful partnership will expedite and streamline transport management and help us, as a market leader in European land transport, to handle even larger volumes of freight,” says Jochen Thewes, CEO of Schenker AG. “We also intend to quickly develop and tap new opportunities to grow outside of our traditional business models. This is our largest equity interest in a digital company to date and it shows how serious we are about innovation at DB Schenker.”
   uShip said it will use the funds raised “to accelerate development of its logistics software platform for key business segments, including high-volume enterprise shippers and small and midsize businesses shipping less-than-truckload (LTL) freight.”