Volvo Group Venture Capital

Using online platforms, autonomy, electric and fuel-cell tech solutions to shape the future of trucking.

Truck Industry Tech

Flock Freight offers “FlockDirect,” a machine learning (ML) and automation-based platform that allows less-than-truckload shippers to share trailer space in one full truckload. The company leverages proprietary probability pricing algorithms to locate such shippers along a single route, pool them into a single truckload, and allocate shipments for the best possible route. Registered carriers can negotiate rates for the shared truckloads and can book the shipment instantly via the platform. The company claims to be the only such service provider to offer carbon-neutral shipping without an extra cost to shippers. The company generated revenue of USD 300 million over the 10 months ended May 2024.Key customers and partnershipsFlock Freight’s customers include Dirty Labs, Eneos, Vitamin Well, Gimme Seaweed, Ammex, Relly Foods, AmerCareRoyal, Orgain, Walkboard Express, Toshiba, Berlin Packaging, and Walakea Water.The company also has a September 2023 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21638">partnership with e2open,</a> a connected supply chain SaaS platform, to offer e2open Transportation Management (TMS) users access to FlockDirect.

Lytx (formerly DriveCam) is a fleet management technology company that provides hardware, software, and IP integrations to provide fleet managers with a consolidated view of their truck fleet.The company's flagship product, the DriveCam Event Recorder, is a dash cam paired with machine vision with AI technologies, which tracks and monitors driver safety. It also captures and analyzes driving behavior to help fleet managers identify and correct risky driving habits.Key customers and partnershipsAs of July 2024, Lytx’s technology was used by more than 5,500 organizations, representing more than 3.4 million drivers. It has a diverse customer base that includes companies such as Liquid Environmental Solutions, Dart Transit Company, CalArk, Flogas, A.D. Transport Express, Waste Management, Inc., Coca-Cola, and Ryder System, Inc., as well as government agencies such as the Concho Valley Transit District, USMC, Orange County Florida, and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.Lytx also has a product partnership with the telematics solution provider Geotab to integrate its video-based safety solutions with Geotab's telematics platform (March 2023).

Aurora Innovation (Aurora) is an autonomous vehicle technology startup providing autonomous vehicles under two divisions, namely “Aurora Horizon” (its autonomous trucking service) and “Aurora Connect” (its autonomous ride-hailing service). Both are powered by the company’s self-driving technology “Aurora Driver,” which is equipped with a hardware kit that includes a computer, proprietary “FirstLight Lidar,” radar, and cameras, as well as a software platform that features perception, motion planning, mapping, and simulation systems to understand its environment.Aurora has operations in cities including the Bay Area (California), Bozeman (Montana), Dallas (Texas), Detroit (Michigan), Louisville (Colorado), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), and Seattle (Washington). It launched its first commercial-ready truck route connecting Dallas and Houston, Texas in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23374">November 2023. </a>However, Aurora laid off 3% of its workforce (about 53 employees) <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25865">in January 2024, </a>to boost the commercial launch efficiency of its autonomous trucking business.Aurora planned to provide the service to customers on a subscription-based delivery-as-a-service business model, charging a fee per mile. As of&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35472">October 2024</a>, the company intended to launch the service commercially in 2025.Aurora’s complementary acquisitions include Uber’s self-driving car unit, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG; December 2020), to complement its autonomous technology development and LiDAR startups Blackmore (May 2019) and OURS Technology (February 2021) to expedite and complement its LiDAR development process.Aurora was listed on the Nasdaq in November 2021 by <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4258">merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), </a>valuing the combined entity at USD 13 billion. The company did not generate revenue in 2023 and reported an operating loss of USD 835 million for the year.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAurora’s partners to pilot its technology include logistics companies such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9619">Werner Enterprises, </a><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18176">Hirschbach, </a><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10521">FedEx, </a><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30781">Uber Freight, </a>and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11986">Schneider.&nbsp;</a>Its product partners include OEMs, such as Volvo (March 2021; a production-ready version unveiled <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29593">in May 2024) </a>and PACCAR (January 2021) to jointly develop autonomous trucks, fleet service partner <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14317">Ryder </a>(November 2022), and hardware and service partner <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18085">Continental </a>(April 2023).&nbsp;

Waabi is a Canadian startup that develops self-driving technology for middle-mile delivery trucks. The company was founded in 2021 by a female chief scientist from Uber’s self-driving tech division Uber ATG (now Aurora-owned). Its next-gen autonomous trucking tech, dubbed “Waabi Driver,” comes with a machine learning and GenAI-based autonomy stack, sensors (LiDAR, radar, and cameras), and compute hardware, and is capable of Level 4 automation (i.e., fully autonomous vehicles limited to specific locations and/or conditions). It is an end-to-end trainable system that can be configured to learn from data and make decisions for safer navigation. The company conducts simulations using its “Waabi World,” a high-fidelity closed-loop simulator that virtually tests its self-driving software and teaches it in real time. Waabi’s self-driving software is designed for factory-level OEM integration, large-scale commercialization, and deployment.The company unveiled its first-generation purpose-built, heavy-duty trucks powered by Waabi Driver <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14683">in November 2022</a> for OEM integration. Waabs adopts a driver-as-a-service model where the company integrates Waabi Driver in partnership with OEMs and offers its service to fleet customers and shippers. The company launched a trucking terminal in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29041">Lancaster, Dallas</a> (Texas), in April 2024, which was to serve as its central facility for operations in Texas.Key customers and partnershipsWaabi’s customer partnerships include Uber Freight (a 10-year collaboration for a commercial delivery pilot in Texas; <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22080">September 2023).</a>The company also has a partnership with NVIDIA to integrate NVIDIA’s next-gen computing platform, “Drive Thor,” into Waabi’s self-driving system <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27888">(March 2024).</a>

Trucksters is a Spain-based provider of freight-matching solutions. The company operates its own truck fleet and maintains a freight-matching platform for shippers and carriers powered by AI and big data. It focuses on improving the efficiency of transport and claims to reduce long-distance road transit time by up to 50% by allowing trucks to be continuously on the move through relays. As of June 2023, Trucksters operated in seven countries across Europe (Spain, Belgium, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, the UK, and France).&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsTrucksters' customer base included over 700 companies as of July 2024, and included companies such as Samsung, Bosch, LG, DHL, and Nestlé.

Cargomatic offers an AI-based real-time, on-demand network for freight matching and tracking across the US. The company has operations in California, Chicago, and metropolitan New York. Its platform supports multiple shipping types, such as drayage, white glove, less-than-truckload (LTL), drayage, and full truckload (FTL), and intermodal.Cargomatic enables shippers to submit loads via its free web application. It also enables truckers to book loads through its free mobile or web application. The company charges a percentage of the transaction value (about 20%) upon successful delivery.&nbsp;As of July 2024, the company had 35,000+ drivers registered on its platform and was supporting approximately 250,000 loads per day.

Co-founded by a trucking industry consultant, Aifleet is a trucking company with an AI-based freight-matching platform to connect carriers and shippers—with a focus on bringing down driver wait times, thereby increasing drivers’ pay. The company launched its technology in mid-2020 and commenced hauling in September the same year. The technology enables its drivers to book best-fit loads based on revenue generation and provides details on the next load they can book while hauling the current one. As of October 2023, it had a team of 150 drivers.The company recorded USD 40 million in annualized revenue in June 2024.Key customers and partnershipsThe company also partnered with online freight-matching solutions provider Parade in January 2022 to give more load opportunities to drivers.

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

Israeli startup Upstream Security provides a cloud-based centralized cybersecurity and analytics platform dubbed “AutoThreat,” for connected and autonomous vehicles. Its platform - pitched toward automotive OEMs, Tier-1/-2 suppliers, and mobility services providers - uses vehicle data to secure vehicles against cyberattacks and to generate data-driven actionable insights for insurance, predictive maintenance, business intelligence, etc. The company claims to be the first cloud-based solution that protects connected and autonomous cars from the cloud. It also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27764">integrates GenAI technologies </a>to facilitate the analysis and management of extensive cyber data and alerts. The company has offices and representatives in Israel, the US, Europe, and Asia.Key customers and partnershipsAs of February 2024, the company reportedly monitored 25 million vehicles worldwide.&nbsp;Upstream Security has technology partnerships with&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35764">Google Cloud,</a> Arilou, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, Karamba Security, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, and Sital Technology and also maintains partnerships with managed security service providers (MSSPs) and system integrators such as Accenture, Atos, BT Security, Capgemini, Deloitte, Fujitsu, HCL Technologies, Hitachi, IBM, Nippon Telegraphic and Telephone, Orange, Tata Consulting Services, and Tech Mahindra.

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 Israel-based Foretellix offers a development testing, verification, and validation platform for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles. Its primary product &ldquo;Foretify,&rdquo; is an open platform that facilitates collaboration between development, safety, and verification and validation (V&amp;V) teams at OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers. It helps customers with defining requirements, early project designs, and over-the-air (OTA) updates. It also offers &ldquo;V-Suites,&rdquo; which is a library of V&amp;V test scenarios targeted at ADAS and autonomous vehicle functions.
 
 
 
 
 In October 2020, the company acquired Metamoto, a developer of a cloud-based solution for testing and validation of automotive software, to complement its product development.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Foretellix&rsquo;s customers include Volvo Group, DENSO Corporation, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25191">
 Nuro,
 </a>
 and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29175">
 Geely.
 </a>
 
 
 It also has partnerships with companies such as Jingwei HiRain, a Tier-1 provider and an automotive technology supplier in China, to accelerate the adoption of its Foretify platform in China (March 2021); dSPACE, a provider of simulation and validation solutions, to jointly develop simulation models (December 2021); 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/311704">
 aiMotive,
 </a>
 a Hungary-based developer of modular self-driving technology and ADAS, to jointly develop solutions for ADAS validations and perception and planning for autonomous vehicles (October 2022); and NVIDIA, to introduce a new high-fidelity sensor simulation service 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27894">
 (March 2024).
 </a>
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24629">
 In December 2023,
 </a>
 Foretellix closed a Series C funding round raising USD 85 million led by 83North. The company intended to utilize the funds for further product development (including integrating more GenAI technologies), scale up the business operations, and expand the team.
 
 
 
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 Aurora Innovation (Aurora) is an autonomous vehicle technology startup founded by former Google, Tesla, and Uber executives. It provides autonomous vehicles under two divisions, namely &ldquo;Aurora Horizon&rdquo; (its autonomous trucking service) and &ldquo;Aurora Connect&rdquo; (its autonomous ride-hailing service). Both are powered by the company&rsquo;s self-driving technology &ldquo;Aurora Driver.&rdquo; Its 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5203">
 &ldquo;Fusion&rdquo;
 </a>
 next-generation hardware kit improves the decision-making speed and accuracy of Aurora Driver and enables autonomous vehicles to operate in varying weather, including rain, snow, and fog. The company also has its own LiDAR sensor system, &ldquo;FirstLight,&rdquo; integrated into its Aurora Driver technology. The company plans to provide the service to customers on a subscription basis (driver-as-a-service) once commercialized.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Aurora received permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) to test vehicles with a safety driver within the state in October 2018 and received the same permission from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in January 2020. The company is testing its autonomous cars in areas such as Palo Alto and San Francisco in California, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and Dallas in Texas&mdash;where the operation of self-driving vehicles is legal.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Aurora also acquired Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), Uber&rsquo;s self-driving car unit in December 2020, to complement its autonomous technology development. As part of the transaction, upon transferring ATG to Aurora, Uber invested USD 400 million in Aurora. It had also acquired two LiDAR startups, namely Blackmore (May 2019) and OURS Technology (February 2021) to expedite and complement its LiDAR development process.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company has product development partnerships with Hyundai (April 2018), Toyota and its auto parts subsidiary Denso (February 2021), and Amazon Web Services (December 2021).&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Aurora has been listed on Nasdaq since November 2021, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4258">
 via a merger
 </a>
 with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which valued the combined entity at around USD 1.3 billion (July 2021). 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20250">
 In July 2023,
 </a>
 Aurora raised USD 820 million through a mix of a public offering (USD 220 million) and a private placement (USD 600 million). 
 Aurora didn&rsquo;t report any revenue for the year ended December 2023 (as opposed to a revenue of USD 68 million in 2022). It reported an operating loss of USD 835 million for the year. 
 
 
 
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Hydrogen Economy

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 PowerCell Sweden (PowerCell), a spin-off of the Volvo Group, develops and produces hydrogen fuel cell stacks and systems. The company has been listed on Nasdaq First North Stock Exchange since 2014.&nbsp;
 
 
 PowerCell offers low-temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells that produce electricity and heat from hydrogen fuel, emitting only air and water. PowerCell&rsquo;s unit cells consist of compact and lightweight metal bipolar plates combined with membrane electrode assemblies. Liquid cooling of the fuel cell stacks enables compact, high-power system integration. In October 2021, the company launched a new business segment, Transition Services, with the intention of allowing customers to switch to hydrogen-electric solutions easily. Transition Services will focus on four main areas: consultancy services, application projects, turnkey solutions, and training.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company offers solutions for the aviation industry (P System 100), marine industry (Marine System 200), automotive industry (PowerCell S3 fuel cell stack), off-road uses (Heavy Duty System 100), and for power generation (Power Generation System 5, Power Generation System 100, Power Generation System 200).
 
 
 In February 2021, PowerCell launched the PowerCellution brand to sell and market fuel cell-related products and services, in addition to being a supplier of individual fuel cell stacks. Later that year, in October 2021, PowerCell launched a new business&mdash;Transition Services&mdash;to help customers transition to hydrogen-electric solutions, by providing consulting services, training, and turnkey solutions.
 
 
 The company remained in development stages until the end of 2020 when the company reported a number of customers in the process of evaluating the product including Robert Bosch, Japanese retailer Inabata, and Swiss global technology company Hitachi ABB Power Grids, among others.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company has a facility in Gothenburg, which it equipped with a fully integrated solar cell solution for its own production of green hydrogen in December 2021. Since April 2019, PowerCell has contracted Robert Bosch, a German multinational engineering and technology company, to produce and sell its PowerCell S3 fuel cell stack for the automotive industry.
 
 
 As of February 2023, the company had a presence in Sweden, Norway, China, and Australia and New Zealand (through a distribution agreement with ENGV), with plans to establish a presence in the US.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In October 2022, PowerCell 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11675">
 signed a deal with
 </a>
 zero-emission aviation company ZeroAvia to deliver 5,000 low-temperature proton exchange membrane (LTPEM) fuel cell stacks, reportedly the world&rsquo;s first serial supply of hydrogen fuel stacks to the aviation industry. The deal follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two companies in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11675">
 July 2022
 </a>
 .
 
 
 PowerCell&rsquo;s other customers include UK-based ColGar Energy (a subsidiary of the Vantastec Group, for its VS5 fuel cell system), German aircraft developer H2FLY (for deliveries of fuel cell systems for aircraft), Norwegian zero-emission maritime solutions provider SEAM (for its Marine System 200), US-based Amogy (for the supply of fuel cell systems and related services), US-based Maritime Partners (for its Marine System 200), US-based Kaizen Clean Energy (for its Power Generation System 200), Siemens Energy (for a 100 kW marine fuel cell module), Norway-based Prototech (for a 185 kW high-power marine fuel cell module), and the University of Texas (for an MS-100 fuel cell system).
 
 
 PowerCell has also joined several joint development projects: the European Camelot development project, which aims to produce membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells (January 2022); the Newborn project, part of the EU's Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, which aims to develop a new 300 kW product platform for aviation (February 2023); and H2Marine, a 42-month EU project to develop fuel cells for marine applications (February 2024). In addition, in March 2024, the company partnered with Hitachi Energy, the Port of Gothenburg, Skanska, the Volvo Group, and Linde Gas to develop HyFlex, a flexible container solution using PowerCell&rsquo;s 100 kW hydrogen fuel cell.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company reported revenues of SEK 310.3 million (USD 29.4 million) and a net loss of SEK 63 million (USD 6 million) in 2023.&nbsp;
 
</div>

Information to create a more efficient, cleaner and safer way to travel in the city of the future

Smart Mobility Information

Founded in Israel, Optibus offers a range of mobility planning and management platforms, providing solutions for public transit agencies, cities, and shuttle operators. The platform leverages AI and algorithms for route planning, vehicle and crew scheduling, rostering, and predicting vehicle running times. In June 2022, the firm launched ‘Operations’, the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11115">first real-time management platform</a> for bus depot operators. In August 2024, the company<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32398"> introduced “Optibus Shuttles” </a>to enhance shuttle operations through automated dispatching and routing. &nbsp;Optibus claims that its platform is the first cloud-native platform that has a drag-and-drop interface, where key metrics are displayed and updated in real time. A case in point is the Western Reserve Transit Authority (WRTA), where Optibus’s platform was applied to 30 bus routes in Youngstown, Ohio. The firm claimed it managed to reduce undesirable driver shifts by 17% while keeping up identical levels of service. The firm also claims that it has had “zero churn” and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a technology pioneer.In April 2022, Optibus<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9800"> acquired Trillium</a>, a developer of multimodal mobility solutions to expand its product offerings and grow its presence in North America. In February 2024, the company expanded its transit data management software,<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26960"> GTFS Manager,</a> developed by Trillium, to Spain, making it available to the European market for the first time.In August 2024, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33172">acquired Datik,</a> a provider of real-time visibility and operational efficiency for public transportation providers.Key customers and partnershipsAs of February 2023, Optibus has been deployed in 25+ countries across <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26718">5,000 cities</a> including New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, London, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15307?industryIds=66">Sao Paulo, </a>and Hong Kong. According to the firm, Optibus's platform helped run 30% of London’s public transportation and accounted for 25% of public transportation in the UK. Optibus has been expanding its presence globally, with a particular emphasis on Latin America, Asia Pacific region, and Europe. In March 2022, the company opened a new office in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9450">Santiago, Chile,</a> and by June 2022, it had expanded <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11288">its leadership team</a> to support local teams in the APAC region. In September 2022, Optibus opened new regional offices in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13457">Rome, Italy,</a> and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13242">Stockholm, Sweden,</a> while also signing new clients. In March 2023, Optibus continued its expansion into Europe with the opening of its office in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17230">Lisbon, Portugal.</a>Optibus has strategically partnered with several organizations to enhance its service offerings and integrate advanced technologies into its operations. These include, 1)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13243">Ito World</a> to enhance data-driven insights (September 2022),&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17455">Stratio</a> to optimize vehicle maintenance for transport operators (March 2023); 3)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20630">Kayseri Ulasim</a> to streamline its operational work and create an AI-powered bus business planning structure (August 2023); 4)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22487">CarMedialab</a> to introduce an end-to-end electric vehicle management solution (October 2023); 5) HADAG in Hamburg, Germany to include ferry operations (October 2023); 6)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30459">Swiftly,</a> to integrate Swiftly's run-time data into the Optibus platform (April 2024); 7)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29401">Snapper Services&nbsp;</a>to offer improved data analysis for public transit operators (May 2024); 8)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31295">Volvo Buses</a> to provide Volvo’s customers access to Optibus’ connected services (July 2024); and 9)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35672">Roma Transportes</a> to deploy AI-powered shuttle services in Brazil (November 2024).

Empowering efficiency, visibility and collaboration throughout supply networks

Supply Chain Tech

FourKites is a supply chain visibility platform that offers solutions to enhance the efficiency and transparency of global supply chains through supply chain visibility and predictive analytics. As of October 2023, the company claimed that it tracked over 3 million global shipments every day through its platform, giving users real-time data with a single source of truth. The platform was also extended to a network of global carriers, which amounted to over 490,000, as of October 2023, and hundreds of transport management systems driving network collaboration across the world.As of October 2023, the company had built a presence in the US, the Netherlands, India, and Germany, claiming that it served over 1,200 of the world’s most recognized brands. This included 18 of the top 20 food and beverage companies and nine of the top 10 consumer packaged goods companies. The company’s platform is catered toward industries such as retail, logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas.Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2023, FourKites' customer portfolio included leading brands such as Best Buy, Dow, Kraft Heinz, Walmart Canada, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Eastman, Bayer, Abbott, and Orvis.In August 2024, FourKites <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32701">introduced</a> a new suite of solutions known as YardWorks in partnership with AI solutions provider EAIGLE. The new solution reportedly allows facilities managers to execute their tasks more efficiently by automating supply chain processes. Also, In April 2024, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28180">partnered</a> with BuyCo, a container shipping platform, to streamline shipping operations and enhance visibility in the container shipping process. The partnership aimed to deliver an integrated solution enabling shippers to handle all container shipping operations and gain real-time, efficient, end-to-end visibility of their supply chains.&nbsp;

Making cold chains faster, smarter, and cooler.

Cold Chain Innovation

FourKites is a supply chain visibility platform that provides real-time tracking and insights for global shipments. The company's technology leverages data from millions of daily global shipments, combining it with enterprise data and applying patented artificial intelligence to offer comprehensive visibility across the entire supply chain. FourKites tracks 3 million shipments daily, covering over 62 billion miles annually, and captures 150+ unique data points at every geolocation update. The platform integrates with existing enterprise systems such as ERP, TMS, and WMS to provide a unified view of inventory, shipments, orders, and facilities.
FourKites' suite of applications includes transportation and order visibility, yard management, and appointment setting. The company's Fin AI, the FourKites Intelligence Network, is a natural language interface that helps users tackle supply chain challenges by surfacing insights, identifying optimization opportunities, and automating tasks. FourKites' platform is designed to mitigate risks, improve responsiveness, and enhance decision-making across the supply chain. The technology aims to eliminate silos and conflicting information by connecting data points from first to final mile.
Key customers and partnerships
FourKites serves a diverse range of industries, with notable customers including C&S Wholesale Grocers, 3 million, Pixelle, Michaels, and Kraft Heinz. C&S Wholesale Grocers used FourKites to create a digital twin of their supply chain, resulting in a 65% reduction in transportation-related customer service calls within four months. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 3 million leveraged FourKites to manage the delivery of critical N95 masks. Pixelle, a paper and packaging corporation, reported a nearly 50% reduction in track-and-trace emails after implementing FourKites. Michaels consolidated its supply chain management into a centralized control tower using FourKites, achieving 91% load tracking and improved on-time delivery. Kraft Heinz utilized FourKites to optimize shipments to food banks in partnership with Feeding America.

Aifleet is the first full-stack tech/trucking company, utilizing advanced AI algorithms to maximize asset utilization. The company was established with a mission of harnessing the power of technology to rebuild trucking for hard-working drivers. Aifleet operates in the $400 bn full truckload market. Since launching operations in late 2020, aifleet has demonstrated the power of its technology; today, aifleet's asset utilization is ~35% higher than industry average.

Waabi is an artificial intelligence company that develops autonomous driving technology for the transportation sector. It offers a self-driving solution known as the Waabi Driver, designed for integration with trucks and aimed at large-scale commercialization and safe deployment. The company primarily serves the logistics and transportation industries with its autonomous trucking solutions The company was founded in 2021 by Raquel Urtasun and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Trucksters is a Madrid-based freight startup that focuses on offering long-haul transport services using an innovative system of relays. It operates across EU, working for more than 500 shippers.

Foretellix is enabling the digital transformation of safety-critical automotive verification. Foretellix’s solutions scale to meet the challenge of verifying the safety of today’s increasingly complex automated driving systems, thus reducing risks, cost, and time to market. Foretellix was founded by a team of pioneers in measurable verification and validation combined with a highly automated and proven coverage-driven verification methodology broadly adopted in the semiconductor industry. They have adapted and tailored their approach for the safety verification and validation of ADAS and autonomous vehicles.

Optibus leverages the power of machine learning and optimization algorithms to redefine the way mass-transportation is planned and operated. Optibus’ disruptive technology drive some of the most complex transportation operations worldwide, helping to improve the quality of service, increase efficiencies, save money, and streamline operations.

Aurora is a self-driving vehicle company providing a platform that brings software and data services to operate passenger vehicles. To move both people and goods, the company develops Aurora Driver, a platform that brings together software, hardware, and data services to operate passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks. Aurora is backed by Amazon and Sequoia, among others, and partners with industry leaders including Toyota, Uber, Volvo, and Paccar. Aurora tests its vehicles in the Bay Area, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. The company has offices in those areas as well as in Bozeman, MT; Seattle, WA; Louisville, CO; and Wixom, MI.

Upstream Security provides a cloud-based data management platform purpose-built for connected vehicles, delivering unparalleled automotive cybersecurity detection and response (V-XDR) and data-driven applications. The Upstream Platform unlocks the value of vehicle data, empowering customers to build connected vehicle applications by transforming highly distributed vehicle data into centralized, structured, contextualized data lakes. Coupled with AutoThreat® Intelligence, the first automotive cybersecurity threat intelligence solution, Upstream provides industry-leading cyber threat protection and actionable insights, seamlessly integrated into the customer’s environment and vehicle security operations centers (VSOC). Upstream’s customers include some of the world’s leading automotive OEMs, suppliers, and others, protecting millions of vehicles.

FourKites is a supply chain visibility platform that extends visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, stores, and beyond. Tracking 3 million shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel, and courier, and reaching 210 countries and territories, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help companies digitize their end-to-end supply chains. More than 1,500 of the world’s most recognized brands — including 9 of the top-10 CPG and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies — trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient, and sustainable supply chains.

Driivz powers the e-mobility revolution with a market-leading, end-to-end EV charging and energy management solution, for global charge point operators and electric mobility service providers.   We enable our customers to accelerate their market leadership by growing their charging infrastructure and delivering an exceptional charging experience, while optimizing operations, reducing TCO, speeding time-to-market and maximizing revenues.    The solution consists of a variety of modules: Operations Management, Smart Energy Management, Billing Management, Driver Self-service Tools and EV Fleet Management. They can be used as individual modules or as a single, unified, open platform that integrates with existing infrastructure.    Operating in more than 30 countries in the US, Europe and Asia, Driivz manages hundreds of millions of transactions per month for more than 1 million EV drivers.  Customers include global industry players such as: Volvo Group, Shell, Centrica, CircleK, Evgo, ESB, ElaadNL, CEZ, Mer, MOL Group, and eMobility Power.

Flock Freight is reimagining and reinventing the freight industry by relentlessly eliminating inefficiency and waste through algorithmic pooling. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and human-centric logistics management, Flock Freight tailors its shipping experience to meet your business’s needs. Flock Freight seamlessly pools any freight to find the perfect route, avoiding terminals and risky offloads so that a shipment travels safely and directly to its destination, damage-free. The result: on-time delivery with every shipment—guaranteed. With venture capital from Google Ventures and SignalFire, Flock Freight is one of the largest startups in San Diego, California. The company's team is obsessed with aggressively growing its customer base, constantly improving the technology platform, and delivering a superior customer experience.  Flock Freight aims to fundamentally change the $60 billion LTL freight industry across North America with FlockDirect—one pooled shipment at a time.

Adnavem is a logistics technology company connecting cargo owners and logistics suppliers through a proprietary tech platform, helping clients create bespoke logistics solutions. Adnavem facilitates international trade and offers both transport customers and suppliers the benefit of direct engagement, increased control as well as transparent market pricing and service performance.  The company was founded in 2017 and based in Göteborg , Frankfurt, Singapore and Shanghai.

Autotech Ventures is a venture capital firm that manages more than $400 million to invest in start-ups that aim to generate financial returns in the vast $3 trillion ground transportation industry. Connected, autonomous, shared and electrified vehicles and related mobility services have created tectonic shifts in the incumbent ground transportation industry. Vehicle manufacturers, parts suppliers, dealerships, repair shops, parking operators, ground logistics firms, and road infrastructure providers are all being impacted by ground transportation startups. Autotech Ventures provides startup companies with 1) capital to execute on their business plan, 2) access to its industry contacts - including dozens of ground transportation corporate investors who together represent a global market capitalization of over $500 billion dollars, 3) up-to-the-minute market intelligence on the ground transport landscape, 4) support in recruiting ground transportation industry talent, and 5) fundraising support to raise additional capital from other financially-motivated investors and strategic investors. Start-ups typically innovate quickly then scale slowly, while corporations typically innovate slowly then scale quickly. Autotech Ventures brings startups and corporations together to bridge this gap and build a new transportation future.

Apex.AI specializes in developing operating systems for autonomous vehicles. Its software products are based on open-source software such as ROS or Eclipse iceoryx.

Peloton Technology was founded in 2011 by a team of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to address major pain points of today’s trucking fleets – accidents and fuel costs. Peloton's system uses radar and DSRC vehicle-to-vehicle communications to link active safety systems between pairs of trucks, reducing collision-related expenses and fuel costs. The drivers remain fully engaged and retain steering control, while the system controls acceleration and braking similar to adaptive cruise control. The dramatic reduction in aerodynamic drag in these platoons provides substantial improvements in fuel economy for both the trailing and leading trucks: with on-road testing showing average savings of over 7% between the two trucks.

Cargomatic is a real-time on-demand network for Local Truck Availability. Shippers can submit loads and instantly find nearby trucks to service their needs. Since launching in early 2014, Cargomatic has aided the expedition of tens of thousands of deliveries throughout California, Chicago, and metropolitan New York.

RidePal is building a network of commuter shuttles for companies of any size and for the general public so that anyone can enjoy the benefits of a shared commute: increased productivity and efficiency, reduced congestion and GHG emissions, and a better quality of life (among others). They are a venture-backed, SF-based startup with an office on Union Square, and they currently operate a dozen+ routes servicing a dozen+ cities around the Bay Area.

Lytx, Inc. develops video-based driver safety and fleet management solutions.  The company offers DriveCam that identifies, prioritizes, and corrects the causes of poor driving to set standards for driver safety needs; RAIR web-based suite of compliance services that helps carriers manage CSA, hours-of-service, driver vehicle inspection report, and driver qualification aspects; a fleet tracking solution; and a fuel management solution.  The company provides its solutions to trucking and transportation organizations, and their drivers; and the construction, distribution, government, transit, utility, waste and environmental, and commercial markets. It serves customers in the United States and internationally.  The company was formerly known as DriveCam, Inc. and changed its name to Lytx, Inc. in November 2013. It was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

DataChassi has developed wireless alarm systems to protect transport of high value goods and prevent diesel debris.  Datachassis system can be tailored to most customer needs. It is easy to expand and benefit from integration into the company's existing transport information system. Almi Invest has invested in DataChassi DC AB together with the West Coast Business Angels and Volvo Group Venture Capital.

Nema Labs is a privately held company founded in 2006 with the mission to provide programmers with powerful and easy-to-use threading tools for multi-core platforms. The technology base originates on world-class research by Professor Per Stenstrom and his research team at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Nema Labs today employs Per Stenstrom's original research team and other key individuals, and is supported by the experienced business incubator Chalmers Innovation.

Powercell Sweden AB develops and distributes fuel cell systems for the transport industry and selective high technology markets. It also develops a fuel processor, which converts existing fuel into clean hydrogen that is used to fuel the company's fuel cell system. The company's products are used in trucks and the marine segments. Powercell Sweden AB was founded in 2008 and is based in Gothenburg, Sweden.

SDCmaterials is a privately held company that was founded in 2004 with a vision centered on Revolutionizing Materials Engineering. Their corporate mission is to create novel, high value, nano‐enhanced products that are easily integrated into Their customers’ manufacturing processes.  The company’s primary focus is emission control catalyst ingredients for the automobile industry. SDC has developed proprietary catalytic materials fabrication and integration processes that are enabling step‐function improvements in the performance efficiencies of the underlying precious metals that are key to emissions control.

Vaperma is a developer, manufacturer, and supplier of advanced gas separation systems.  Vaperma breakthrough patented polymer membrane technology combines solvent and high temperature resistance into a strong hollow fiber which enables to address many industrial applications.  Vaperma advanced gas separation systems primarily target dewatering (''dehydration'') in a range of existing energy and industrial markets, including ethanol and natural gas processing applications. It can be used for applications such as the production of fuel-grade ethanol and the dehydration of natural gas, biogas, and chemicals.  With Vapermaâ€™s patented hollow-fiber polymer membrane, we offer our customers an energy-saving and eco-friendly solution for high-purity chemical products and a sustainable environment.  Vapermaâ€™s growth strategy is to focus on continuously improving its gas separation technologies to meet the broadest range of customer needs.

I-Tech is a Swedish company limited by shares and founded in 2000 by a group of researchers from University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology.  I-Tech’s biocide Selektope® (generic name Medetomidine) has sprung from extensive research on the development of environmentally sound marine paints through a government funded multi-year research project. Several putative biocides were included in this project, but Selektope® distinguished from the others when it was discovered to affect the behaviour of the barnacle larvae so that they would not settle on prepared surfaces. The substance was particularly interesting as the effect can be identified already at nano-molar concentrations.  Further development refined Selektope® to a potent, ecologically verified marine biocide for use as an antifoulant in marine bottom paints. The technology holds extensive patent protection for all relevant maritime nations.  Selektope® has received regulatory approvals in Japan and Korea and is under registration in Europe and China.

TranSiC offers bipolar junction transistors in silicon carbide for clean tech efficient power electronics systems.  The company's products are developed for higher voltages, higher operating temperatures and lower losses.

Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, Illuminate Labs develops and markets rendering and baking technology especially tailored to satisfy the needs of game developers based on the proprietary LiquidLight technology. Turtle is a sophisticated rendering and baking plug-in for Autodesk Maya used for lighting and content creation in next-gen game development. Beast is a game engine-independent content pipeline tool used for advanced global illumination and dynamic relighting of characters.

Volvo Group Venture Capital is a corporate investment company making venture capital and growth equity investments.  Their mission is to drive new business growth and their ambition is to be a leading corporate investor in sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions. Their value proposition to the companies we invest in, other investors as well as to our Volvo colleagues, is to accelerate growth.

<div> Volvo Group Venture Capital was founded in 1997 as the corporate venture arm of the Volvo Group. It has invested globally in over 30 venture companies across sectors like logistics services, site solutions, electrification, and sustainability. The firm aims to drive transformation by facilitating new solutions and collaborating with startups that align with Volvo Group's strategic priorities. Some of Volvo Group Venture Capital's notable portfolio companies include FourKites in supply chain visibility, Optibus for optimizing public transit operations, Zacua Ventures focused on construction technology, Trucksters providing innovative relay trucking in Europe, and Waabi developing autonomous trucking solutions using artificial intelligence. In January 2023, the firm invested in Waabi, a Canadian AI startup working on commercializing autonomous trucks at scale. Volvo is actively exploring collaborations with Waabi to leverage its advanced driver technology. In June 2023, it backed Madrid-based Trucksters which utilizes AI algorithms for efficient long-haul truck relays across Europe. Improving freight transit times by up to 50%, Trucksters aligns with Volvo's vision for sustainable and autonomous transportation. Moving forward, Volvo Group Venture Capital will likely continue investing in startups pioneering technology that advances vehicle electrification, automation, logistics optimization, and sustainable transport solutions. Overall, the venture arm acts as a strategic pipeline for Volvo Group to collaborate with visionary entrepreneurs and gain a competitive edge in next-generation mobility offerings. </div>

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