InstaFreight snags $9.5m in series A funding

The Berlin-based digital forwarding startup has closed an 8 million euro (U.S. $9.5 million) series A funding round with a private investment company.    Berlin-based digital forwarding company InstaFreight closed an 8 million euro (U.S. $9.5 million) series A funding round with a private investment firm, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
   “The capital from the financing round enables us to further develop the business model and thereby cope with the rapidly increasing transport volumes,” InstaFreight Co-founder Philipp Ortwein said. “In addition to increasing automation, our priority is to further strengthen the data interfaces for our customers and partners. In this manner, we continue to work for the benefit of our customers on the digitization of the forwarding market.’’
   Founded in 2016, the business-to-business online freight forwarder carries out shipments of different volumes, from a single pallet to full truckloads in Germany and across the European Union.
   In addition to unveiling the series A funding round, InstaFreight announced that it has appointed Maximilian Schaefer as managing director to drive the operational side of the startup. Schaefer has worked as a member of the senior management team at logistics services provider TNT, and has also set up the logistics for La Moda, an e-commerce company in Russia.