All eyes on freight visibility

FourKites snagged $35 million in a Series B funding round, including from existing investors, to help the freight visibility and analytics provider expand across modes and geographies.    The freight visibility and analytics software provider FourKites has landed a $35 million funding round intended to aid the company’s global expansion.
   FourKites provides real-time visibility into in-transit loads in multiple modes, but primarily provides it for truckload shipments at present. The company has long had an aim to expand to other markets and all freight modes. It competes in a competitive landscape for truckload visibility with pure play providers like MacroPoint (which was acquired by Descartes in August for $107 million) and 10-4 Systems (which was bought by the transportation software conglomerate Trimble in September for an undisclosed amount).
   While those are FourKites’ most direct competitors, a host of other software companies are aiming to provide similar visibility and analytics services to their customers as part of a wider offering. Those companies include project44, which has built an application programming interface (API) layer for the freight industry and uses it to provide real-time visibility and analytics, and Trucker Tools, which has parlayed an app for truckers into visibility for truckers and, more recently, a load matching solution.
   A host of load-matching software startups, like Convoy, Transfix and LoadSmart, also sell visibility and analytics as part of their offering.
   But in this crowded market, FourKites has built a sizable customer base, including Unilever, Kraft-Heinz, Conagra, Cargill, Ryder and Ardent Mills.
   The latest funding round was led by August Capital and also included further investment from FourKites’ Series A backers Bain Capital and Hyde Park Ventures. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, founder and chief executive officer Matthew Elenjickal said that remaining independent will give his company an edge over other visibility and analytics providers, and that the company is not looking for an acquirer right now.