by Teresa Novellino , Upstart Business Journal
Entrepreneurs & Enterprises Editor December 19, 2012
What’s happening: The Austin, Texas-based commercial freight company uShip, just announced that it has secured $18 million in Series C funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to expand its online shipping marketplace. The company has a starring role in the A&E series Shipping Wars, which features six independent truckers who transport the type of oversize items that traditional carriers will not handle and who use uShip to competitively bid for jobs.
Why it’s of interest: Founded in 2004, the company is honing in on truckers’ growing reliance on mobile devices to do their jobs, and it will use the funding to further develop its mobile applications and platform to better meet the needs of both transporters and shipping customers. The funding enables uShip to further develop its new “PRO” platform (currently in private beta), which allows business shippers and freight brokers to build their own carrier networks, as well as efficiently manage and automate their shipping operations, taking aim primarily at the $300 billion truckload freight market in the United States.
An excerpt of the release:
“Kleiner Perkins funding and resources will propel uShip’s next phase of growth. Commercial freight is trending toward complete automation and greater efficiency, meaning uShip’s PRO platform has the opportunity to impact the entire industry, from enterprise shippers to freight brokers to carriers,” said Matt Chasen, CEO and founder of uShip. “We’ve already built an online shipping marketplace of over 1.6 million shipping customers and 325,000 registered carriers, a key distinction between our efforts and those of our competitors. KPCB’s funding and support will allow us to continue our global expansions plans and further develop our innovative shipping platform.”
Original story found here.
