Emerge, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based private marketplace company, has announced that it raised $20 million in a seed round of funding.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based freight private marketplace company Emerge has announced that it raised $20 million in a seed round of funding. This round of funding was led by Greycroft Partners with participation from existing investors.
Emerge was founded by brothers Andrew and Michael Leto. The Leto brothers spent multiple summers helping their father run his air freight business.
After gaining a better understanding of supply chain management, the Leto brothers launched a company called Globaltranz, which is a third-party logistics company that helps shippers manage their freight.
Earlier this year, private equity company The Jordan Company acquired Globaltranz for more than $400 million.
“Even as Globaltranz grew into a massive success, I always knew there was a need for a Private Freight Marketplace,” said Andrew Leto (Emerge founder). “And we have the best team in the industry growing this platform.”
Emerge has a goal of accelerating productivity and providing true real-time visibility. Plus the company is looking to offer access to all available capacity when companies move product across the country.
“Building one of the largest 3PLs in the country, offering Less-Than-Truckload and Full-Truckload brokerage services has given us the insight to eliminate the real inefficiencies our customers experience — ultimately the platform reduces costs and positively impacts the bottom line,” added Michael Leto (Emerge CEO) in a statement.
Some of the features built into Emerge’s platform includes quote management, analytics, real-time tracking, history, real-time chat, and automated lane/repeat shipment creation.
“Technology advancements are catalyzing all sorts of changes to how the trucking industry moves freight,” added Greycroft Partners partner Will Szczerbiak. “We have looked at a bunch of other vendors and Emerge stands in a class of its own when it comes to creating a more delightful and efficient freight booking experience for shippers, carriers, and brokers alike. It is a real platform. Andrew and Michael are true veterans in this space and are the only ones with the relationships and know how to be able to build what they’ve built.”
Jack Holmes, the retired CEO of UPS Freight, serves as the Vice Chairman of Emerge’s board. And former FedEx executive Grant Crawford is the chief commercial officer of Emerge.
“After being engaged in this space for decades, Emerge is the most exciting approach to solving problems for shippers and carriers alike that I’ve ever seen. I’ve known and respected the Letos for years. Their knack for understanding what customers need and their ability to address it with user-friendly technology was a huge draw for me to come aboard. Grant Crawford from FedEx coming on only further validates how compelling this solution really is,” explained Holmes.
