Logistics tech startup Fleet raises $4 million in venture funds

Fleet, a one-year-old logistics technology startup that matches small businesses with freight forwarders, has raised $4 million in seed funding from a pool of venture capital firms led by Hunt Technology Ventures LP.

The Portland, Ore., firm was founded in 2014 by a 19-year-old high school graduate named Max Lock. The company's Fleet Quoting Marketplace is an online platform that allows small and medium-sized businesses to solicit and compare quotes from freight forwarders.

Small and medium-sized shippers register with Fleet so they can compare rates, review features, and choose the cheapest or fastest option to move their goods, according to the Fleet website.

In turn, freight forwarders that join the site gain a venue for displaying their services and connecting with new customers for less than the cost of traditional sales platforms such as advertising and phone calls, the company claims.

Other VC firms contributing to the investment include: Placid Ventures LP, David S. Hunt, 1517 Fund, LatAm Partners LLC, GrowthX Fund, NFQ, and Telegraph Hill Capital.

Fleet plans to use the new investment to grow its team, enroll new shippers and freight forwarders, and refine functions such as price quoting, financial transaction support, and shipment-status visibility, the company said in a statement.