Digital Freight Marketplace Emerge Gains $20 Million Investment
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Digital freight marketplace Emerge closed out an early stage of financing with $20 million in investments, it was announced Feb. 4.
Emerge runs a freight logistics platform, which allows shippers to find truck capacity at optimized shipping rates.
The Arizona-based company announced that the funding closed out its Series A financing. This is an initial round of investments private start-up businesses could get after they have shown progress and demonstrated potential growth and revenue.
Emerge co-founder Michael Leto told Transport Topics that the investments will be used to support the existing platform along with growing it out into new services and marketplaces. The funds also will go toward marketing and a new facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., the company is moving into.
“From a full truckload standpoint, we put some great tools together in terms of our suite of services,” Leto said. “But there are other verticals in domestic transportation and even beyond with international transportation. Different modes of transportation we’d like to add onto the platform as well.”
Leto and his brother, Andrew, previously had founded GlobalTranz, a logistics services and freight management company. GlobalTranz was sold in 2018 for $400 million.
NewRoad Capital Partners is a growth equity capital firm that led the financing round on behalf of Emerge. That phase of early investments also included Greycroft and 9Yards Capital.
“We’re proud to have backed the Letos and Emerge since it was just a concept back in 2017,” Greycroft Principal Will Szczerbiak said in a statement provided to TT. “We believe we have the best, most experienced team in the trucking business and are excited to welcome NewRoad, who furthers our range when it comes to key relationships and background in the industry.”
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The trucking industry is no stranger to digital platforms, with many brands looking to dominate that emerging market, including major players such as C.H. Robinson and XPO Logistics. Leto says his platform offers an “all-inclusive” approach to connecting parties interested in moving freight.
“We have shippers that are in our platform, there are brokers that are in our platform, and there are carriers that are in our platform as well,” he said.
Leto stressed that a big drive behind the platform is the team, with many workers coming from the trucking industry.
Emerge was founded by the brothers in 2018. The company already has processed more than $1 billion in freight.
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