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Freight tech investing hits $11.7 billion through third quarter, Pitchbook report says

Image: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

It’s been another banner year for venture capital (VC) investment as investors sunk $11.7 billion in supply chain technology across 371 deals during the first three quarters of 2019, according to a report released by Pitchbook on Dec. 6.

In 2018, VC investors funneled a record $19.3 billion into freight technology services across 534 deals.

Summarizing the report’s key findings, Pitchbook analyst Asad Hussain said he sees continued disruption in the last-mile food delivery space as companies continue to bring thousands of small-scale restaurants into their delivery networks.

Through 3Q 2019, according to Hussain, investors have channeled approximately $5 billion into last-mile delivery companies.


An increasing number of autonomous vehicle startups are also moving into the industrial/logistics sectors, driving earlier adoption and revenue generation.

Here are a few other trends and takeaways from the report:

Deal size, valuations grow:


Over the past five years, the median late-stage pre-money valuation of supply chain technology startup deals has risen by a CAGR of 40%. The median valuations of angel and seed and early-stage deals rose by a CAGR of 5% and 19%, respectively. 

Late-stage valuations at record levels:

So far in 2019, the median late-stage pre-money valuation has risen to $250 million, up 64% compared to last year.

Deal count declined:

Despite pouring an impressive $11.7 billion into freight tech companies in 2019, investors are not poised to beat the 2018 record number of deals. Deal count through 3Q 2019 is down 7% compared to last year. 

The value of those deals, however, is about the same as it was during the same period in 2018.


Linda Baker, Senior Environment and Technology Reporter

Linda Baker is a FreightWaves senior reporter based in Portland, Oregon. Her beat includes autonomous vehicles, the startup scene, clean trucking, and emissions regulations. Please send tips and story ideas to [email protected].