Loadsmart Lands $90M From BlackRock, Maersk, For Digital Shipping Platform

Investors just delivered another $90 million into the coffers of Loadsmart, a digital freight startup, the company announced Friday (Nov. 20).

BlackRock led the Series C funding round, which also included key industry investors like international shipping giant Maersk, which has been an investor since Loadsmart’s Series A round, and TFI International Inc.

Chromo Capital co-led the deal. Also participating were Perry Capital, founded by Richard C. Perry, and new fund Bramalea Partners, launched by Andrew Boyd, former head of global equity capital markets at Fidelity Investments.

Loadsmart features an online portal designed for those in the shipping business to move freight through ports and across rail lines and highways on land.

Loadsmart claims it has expanded its revenue base by 250 percent since January by what it calls a “fiscally conservative strategy.”

Instead of offering its services at a discount in hopes of building a base of customers, Loadsmart said it has taken a different approach.

Loadsmart said it has instead focused on what its online shipping platform can do for companies in the transportation business on a value-added basis, “coupled with API integrations.”

According to Loadsmart, examples include “truckload instant pricing and booking in 2015; server-to-server autonomous truckload booking via API and TMS integrations in 2016; and drayage and transload digital services in 2019.”

Along with growing revenue, Loadsmart, in turn, said it has managed to keep a lid on operational expenses, which it says it has kept at 2019 levels.

“As the secular shift from analogue to digital has continued to accelerate throughout the logistics industry, in which volatility has become the norm, we are proud to help our customers leverage Loadsmart’s technology to secure capacity and exceptional service,” Loadsmart Co-Founder and CEO Ricardo Salgado said in the funding announcement.

Loadsmart’s financial adviser on the deal was Goldman Sachs, while Paul Hastings handled the legal work.