Freightos raises $25 million investment for logistics software

Logistics technology platform Freightos Ltd. has raised a $25 million investment round led by GE Ventures and plans to use the new capital to speed development of its software tools for global freight pricing, routing, and sales automation, the company said today.

Hong Kong-based Freightos Ltd. has been growing quickly in the past year, launching its Freightos Marketplace tool and acquiring the Barcelona-based air cargo rate management and e-booking provider WebCargoNet.

Freightos makes software tools that help logistics providers automate their internal freight rate management, pricing, routing, and business intelligence, the company says. It uses that same software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology to drive its online freight marketplace, offering freight quote comparisons, online booking, and 24/7 live support, Freightos says.

"The age of digital logistics has arrived, and with it easier importing and exporting for businesses worldwide," Freightos founder and CEO Zvi Schreiber said in a statement. "This once-neglected sector is ripe for digitization." Freightos software provides that digitization by enabling freight forwarders to obtain global freight routing and pricing data, allowing import/export companies to compare, book, and manage shipments, and encouraging logistics service providers (LSPs) to sell their services online, Schreiber said.

The investment also marks the latest step by General Electric Co. to expand from its roots as an industrial manufacturing giant and increase its stake in the logistics sector. In 2016 GE acquired the cloud-based, rail shipment reporting company ShipXpress Inc. and the Canadian rail communications products provider Iders Inc. It shortly afterward announced deals to provide cargo tracking and shipping data to the Port of Los Angeles and German rail powerhouse Deutsche Bahn.

In addition, the announcement of Freightos' new funding marks the second large logistics investment this week, after Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Turvo Inc. raised $25 million itself to help launch a "collaborative logistics" platform that allows shippers, brokers, and carriers to work together in real-time across the supply chain. Turvo's cloud-based platform breaks down traditional organizational silos by providing real-time visibility of shipments, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered productivity tools, and secure collaboration, the company says.