STG Buys Carrier Logistics to Launch Autonomous Freight Agents

Private equity firm STG plans to enable the development of an artificial intelligence (AI)-native less-than-truckload (LTL) solution with its acquisition of freight management software provider Carrier Logistics Inc. (CLI).

STG’s investment in CLI will accelerate product innovation by integrating agentic AI frameworks into CLI’s core architecture, the companies said in a Monday (April 13) press release.

This integration will help develop an AI-native operating system for terminal-based motor carriers, according to the release.

CLI President Ben Wiesen said in the release that the acquisition will allow CLI’s existing team to service customers through enhanced support capabilities.

“At the same time, STG’s investment in our transportation and freight management technology will allow us to maintain our position as the market-leading transportation management system for LTL and deliver the next generation of AI-driven tools that our clients need to remain competitive in a high-velocity environment,” Wiesen said.

STG’s vision for LTL software includes AI agents that can deliver autonomous dispatch and routing, human-in-the-loop automation in which complex variables are flagged for human oversight, and terminal optimization in which predictive modeling for dock workflows reduces dwell time and maximizes trailer utilization, according to the release.

“By acquiring CLI, we are not just buying a market leader; we are enabling the development of a brain into the nervous system of LTL operations,” Rushi Kulkarni, managing director and co-head of the Lower Mid-Market Allegro Strategy at STG, said in the release. “Our goal is to provide carriers with an agentic platform that automates the mundane and optimizes the complex, keeping the human operator at the center of the most critical decisions.”

STG said in a March press release that it closed an STG Allegro II fund that raised $1.3 billion to continue the firm’s investment strategy in the lower mid-market that targets investments in enterprise software companies.

William Chisholm, managing partner and chief investment officer at STG, said in the March release: “We believe STG’s playbook is well positioned to capitalize on the opportunity we see for value-oriented investing in the lower mid-market.”

PYMNTS reported in March that across logistics networks and other parts of the supply chain, AI is moving from a tool that assists human decisions to a system that can make decisions and, in some cases, execute the decisions.