Logistics Startup Serving HelloFresh Lands $4.3M

A logistics startup that is already servicing some big names has announced $4.3 million in new venture capital (VC) funding.

Monday (Dec. 18) reports from TechCrunch said AxleHire — which facilitates last-mile logistics and delivery for subscription commerce and consumer packaged goods (CPG) firms like HelloFresh and La Boulangerie — has secured the new funding from contributors like Acorn Pacific, RGA Ventures and other backers.

The company currently operates in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, with expansion plans to enter other new markets in the first quarter of 2018. AxleHire provides logistics and delivery services for large corporate clients that ship more than 10,000 items a month.

The firm aims to hit $1.5 million in revenues by April 2018 and currently facilitates more than 150,000 shipments each month.

“More and more, we have seen retailers and CPG companies reach out about doing direct-to-consumer shipping because we’ve been very successful with it,” said AxleHire co-founder and CEO Daniel Sokolovsky in a recent interview.

He added that the company operates its own sorting facility and distributes items for delivery that are picked up by drivers.

“The main difference between these [sorting facilities] and warehouses is that they are meant to hold inventory for less than 24 hours,” Sokolovsky explained. “Most of our inventory is out in 12.”

The company has deployed innovative robotic technology in its operations as well, improving its operations and overall speed.

“We have successfully integrated a method to use any type of delivery robot within our system,” the CEO said. “We are also launching our own delivery locker system to combat Amazon’s for use by any carrier and by any business.”

AxleHire is not the only such startup seeking VC backing from investors. Earlier this year, another logistics company, China-based Best, announced its own plans to raise $930 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., upping its previously reported hopes of a $750 million raise.