Freightos lands $25m in funding

The freight rate marketplace and management software provider’s venture capital investment has now topped $50 million as it seeks to digitize the freight rate environment.    Online freight rate marketplace and rate management software provider Freightos has secured $25 million in venture capital funding, the company said Wednesday.
   The new investment, led by GE Ventures, is Freightos’ third major round of funding (technically referred to as a Series B extension round) since launching in 2012, and brings its total investment to more than $50 million.
   The funds will be used to scale Freightos’ Marketplace globally while continuing development of Freightos’ software suite of global freight pricing, routing, and sales automation for freight forwarders, the company said.
   The rate marketplace is targeted primarily at small and medium-sized enterprises seeking price discovery for forwarding services from Asia to North America and Europe.
   “The age of digital logistics has arrived and with it easier importing and exporting for businesses worldwide,” Freightos Founder and CEO Zvi Schreiber said. “This once-neglected sector is ripe for digitization. Freightos’ unique technology enables instant freight routing and pricing for top forwarders worldwide. This same technology powers the Freightos Marketplace, where service providers can sell services online and import/export companies can compare, book and manage shipments instantly. This capital raise will help to continue Freightos’ rapid expansion.”
   Freightos technology already digitizes freight operations for more than 1,000 logistics providers and global supply chain companies, including Nippon Express, CEVA Logistics, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics and Sysco Foods.
   The company recently launched its free Freightos International Freight Index.
   “Logistics digitization is a strong strategic complement for General Electric’s role as the world’s leading digital industrial company,” said Jonathan Pulitzer, GE Ventures’ managing director of Israel.
   In August 2016, Freightos acquired WebCargoNet, a Barcelona-based technology provider of air cargo rate management and e-bookings.
   Other investors in Freightos include Aleph VC, Annox Capital, Gold Lion Holdings Limited, ICV, Master (HK) Toys, MSR Capital, OurCrowd, Sadara Ventures and others.