Greenbriar Equity Leads $500M Investment In Uber Freight

Greenbriar Equity Group L.P., a New York investment firm in the logistics sector, led a $500 million Series A preferred stock financing for Uber Freight, putting its value at $3.3 billion, Uber Technologies Inc. announced Friday (Oct. 2).

Under the terms of the investment, Uber will retain its majority ownership in Uber Freight. The cash will be used to grow its transportation logistics platform and speed products to equip shippers with technology to power their supply chains, the San Francisco-based company said.

Michael Weiss and Jill Raker, managing partners at Greenbriar, will join the Uber Freight Board of Directors. Between the two of them, they have more than 40 years of logistics investing experience, having managed many investments across the sector.

Launched three years ago, Uber Freight connects truck drivers with shippers through its app, similar to how the company’s ride-hailing app pairs drivers with customers seeking a ride. Today, the business has nearly 65,000 carriers in its network and thousands of shippers as customers, Uber said on its website.

“Uber Freight has created an innovative and effective approach to logistics technology that we believe is highly scalable in the coming years,” Weiss said in a statement. “We are eager to share the extensive knowledge and expertise we have built through our decades-long involvement in the logistics sector.”

In September, sennder, the Berlin-based digital road freight logistics startup, announced it acquired Uber’s European freight business in an all-stock deal.

The U.S. ride-hailing company will become a minority shareholder. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The transaction is expected to unite the two companies to expand the digital freight industry across Europe, the U.S. and Canada and extend the combined group’s presence to Amsterdam, the company said.

Last fall, PYMNTS reported inefficient dispatching and last-minute loads in trucking causes stress for drivers and trucking companies, especially those still stuck in the analog era, or those with digital capabilities that haven’t advanced.

In a PYMNTS discussion, Lidia Yan, CEO of NEXT Trucking, the Los Angeles County-based tech startup, said digital technology and the marketplace model can ease those burdens for a key industry that is undergoing massive disruption and faces a driver shortage.