FreightWaves, a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based company that provides data and news for global freight markets, announced it has raised $21 million in Series B funding. Including this round, FreightWaves has raised $40 million. This round of funding was led by 8VC, which has participated in all of FreightWaves’ funding round. Hearst Ventures (the venture capital arm of media giant Hearst) along with the venture capital arm of logistics real estate giant Prologis also participated in this round.
“This round was entirely opportunistic and was initiated because we had a great deal of strategic interest from very important partners,” said Craig Fuller, the founder and CEO of FreightWaves. “Our cash position was very healthy before the round, boosted by the growth of our operating cash flow due to the performance of the business over the past year. Our SONAR SaaS product continues to grow at monthly double-digit rates as clients experience the value of fast data and increasing visibility into the transportation and freight markets.”
Photo: FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller via LinkedIn
These investors are strategic as Hearst has decades of experience using data and editorial content to build subscription-based recurring revenue offerings for clients in the transportation and financial markets. So FreightWaves will be able to benefit from related expertise at Heart to set up sophisticated models, distribution, and premium content. With this funding round, FreightWaves will deploy the funds to expand data and transparency products beyond trucking so that it includes air, rail, maritime, port, warehousing, etc.
“FreightWaves combines powerful industry-specific data and analytics with fresh commentary, unique insights and risk management solutions that help decision-makers across the freight ecosystem make better operational decisions,” added Hearst Ventures Managing Director David Famolari.
And Prologis Ventures has been making investments in companies that affect global supply chains since 2016. Prologis Ventures managing partner Will O’Donnell said that the company has been working closely with FreightWaves to map out electronic logging device (ELD) location data.
“We expect to leverage this data to understand how logistics facilities can operate more efficiently by improving the interaction of trucking companies, shippers and warehouse operators across the many facets of the modern supply chain,” explained O’Donnell.
Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund (ROTR Seed Fund) participated in this round as well. The ROTR Seed Fund first invested in FreightWaves when it won the Rise of the Rest pitch competition in Chattanooga last year. The Rise of the Rest pitch competition is headed up by Revolution chairman/CEO and former AOL CEO and co-founder Steve Case.
“In the Third Wave of the internet, entrepreneurs seeking to disrupt major real-world industries will focus on scaling in cities where that sector expertise resides. They will also rely on key partnerships to provide credibility and industry guidance,” Case commented. “FreightWaves embodies both of these concepts by combining Chattanooga’s history of logistics expertise with data from collaborations with some of the most important participants in the transportation ecosystem.”
Another notable investor is Bob Corker — who is the former U.S. Senator for Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Corker pointed out that Chattanooga is a transportation and logistics hub and he is proud to see another homegrown company making “an impact in the world of freight.”
Every institutional investor that previously participated also joined this round including Fontinalis Ventures (mobility venture fund created by Bill Ford), Ascend Venture Capital, Story Ventures, and Engage Ventures. New York Jets offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum also continued his investment in FreightWaves as well.
