INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
CapitalG, the growth equity arm of Alphabet, has led the $185 million round in Convoy, its first investment in the Seattle-based,
tech-enabled trucking network.
The round brings Convoy total raised to $265 million and values the company at $1 billion
Rowe Price and Lone Pine Capital participated in the financing alongside existing investors.
Convoy has long been backed by Greylock
Partners, which led the startup Series A in 2015
Y Combinator is also a backer
In an unusual move last year, Y Combinator led a $62 million round in Convoy in what was the first time the accelerator deployed capital
from its continuity fund into a late-stage company that was not a YC graduate.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston,
Bezos Expeditions and former Starbucks president Howard Behar are also Convoy investors.
Founded by a pair of former Amazonians, Dan Lewis
and Grant Goodale, Convoy is trying to transform the $800 billion trucking industry, which is no easy feat
Dubbed the ‘Uber for trucks,& Convoy app connects truckers with people who need freight moved
With the new funding, it&ll expand nationwide and move beyond just freight matching.
Trucks run empty 40% of the time, and they often sit
idle due to inefficient scheduling,& Convoy CEO Dan Lewis said in a statement
&This is a drag on the economy, the environment, and the bottom lines of shippers and carriers alike.
Accordingto GeekWire, Convoy is
working on a new suite of tools to help truckers combine tasks so they waste less time.And it working to provide shippers access to tracking
and pricing data through its platform.
As part of the deal, CapitalG partner David Lawee will join Convoy board of directors.
