For an industry that seems to be in desperate need of truck drivers to meet peak volume demands, Haul has arrived at the right time.
The on-demand truck driver platform announced Wednesday that it has closed a $10 million funding round led by B Capital Group. Haul’s new funding adds to a $3 million seed round announced in February 2021.
This latest round of financing includes some of the top leaders in the supply chain and marketplace technology space, including previous funders Hack VC, Next Coast Ventures, Pipeline Capital Partners, RPM Ventures and Value Chain Ventures; new funders Bam Elevate, FJ Labs and WTI; and angel investor Will Redd, co-founder of ZipRecruiter.
Since its initial $3 million seed financing last year, Haul’s revenue has grown 30% month over month. The company said the new funding will allow it to grow in its California market and expand to new markets in Texas, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Headcount will also increase, including product, engineering and operations teams, that will quadruple in size.
“We are driver-obsessed and we’re using that focus to reimagine what a job in trucking means for today’s CDL driver,” said Timothy-James Henry, co-founder and CEO. “Drivers love us because they get the flexibility and benefits of driving for rideshare platforms with the return of putting their valuable commercial driver’s license skills to use. It costs $18 billion annually for fleet operators to credential, drug test and document drivers when people move from job to job, so they value how we eliminate that turnover cost through interoperable driver profiles on a single platform.”
Haul connects available drivers to fleets in need of a driver. According to the company, less than 10% of 3.6 million U.S. CDL holders own their own trucks, but there are plenty of drivers working for fleets who would like to have the flexibility to work when they want and where they want.
Watch: Is there a driver shortage?
Haul’s platform is designed to accommodate this desire. Fleets in need of a driver log into the Haul platform – which includes an enterprise software system and cloud-based mobile application – and can search for a qualified CDL driver that meets their immediate need.
Fleets using Haul are given access to the Fleet Portal, where they can review a driver’s qualifications, approve hours and communicate with the driver. Haul also allows fleets to create their own marketplace through which internal employees are given the option to claim shifts before they are made available to external Haul drivers.
“The recent surge in supply chain bottlenecks, logistical issues and factory shutdowns during the COVID pandemic has shown us the vital nature of all facets of supply chain technology,” said Gabe Greenbaum, general partner at B Capital Group. “Haul has the power to unlock the scale potential of the CDL driver workforce through their innovative marketplace and SaaS platform. This could help reduce one of the most critical problems in today’s supply chain and trucking fleets.”
CDL drivers looking to sign up for the Haul platform can do so on the company’s website. Haul drivers do not need to own their own trucks. A mobile-first platform available on the Google Play and Apple App Store allows drivers to complete their application and once approved, apply for and accept assignments, clock in and out, and track their earnings and hours.
In addition, Haul offers InstantPay. Drivers can see the number of expected hours of work along with the pay for those hours. Once the job is complete and the hours approved, the driver is paid immediately.
The platform is available in seven languages: English, Chinese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese and Tagalog.
Founded by Henry and Toan Nguyen Le, who met while working for Uber Freight, Haul was conceived as a solution to bring gig economy flexibility to drivers who didn’t want to work for only one company and fleets that need driver capacity to handle immediate needs but not necessarily full-time employment needs.
Click for more articles by Brian Straight.
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