Tech startup Flock Freight collects $50 million in VC backing

Trucking technology startup Flock Freight has collected $50 million in venture capital backing to fund increased product innovation and partnership expansion as the company accelerates its "freight carpooling" model, the firm said today.

The "series B" funding round was led by SignalFire and GLP Capital Partners, and follows previous venture rounds totaling $40 million, led by its largest backer, Google Ventures (GV), the venture capital arm of search giant Google Inc.'s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.

With this funding round, San Diego-based Flock Freight will expand its FlockDirect platform into a mid-market and enterprise-level solution for businesses across the country. The firm's "hubless pooling product" uses algorithms to pool multiple less-than-truckload (LTL) and partial-truckload (PTL) freight shipments so they can be shipped via full truckload service.

Also with its new backing, Flock Freight said it will "redefine the antiquated pricing structure" associated with the hub-and-spoke model of shipping freight, and expand its partnerships with truckload carrier networks to ensure their trucks are completely filled.

"There are many companies trying to bring data or tech-enabled workflows to the transportation market, but what got us excited about Flock Freight was their ability go beyond that to offer a fundamentally better experience for customers with FlockDirect," Chris Farmer, SignalFire's founder and chief executive officer, said in a release.

How exactly does FlockDirect save you time and risk on your shipment?

Instead of traveling through the entire hub-and-spoke system of traditional LTL, FlockDirect taps into the FTL network and bypasses the terminals at the beginning and end of your freight's journey. pic.twitter.com/8YK1L9dvy2

— Flock Freight (@FlockFreight) February 18, 2020