HomeFundingMadrid-based freight transport startup Trucksters closes €6.3 million to accelerate the European...

Madrid-based freight transport startup Trucksters closes €6.3 million to accelerate the European expansion

Trucksters, the Spanish relay-based freight transport operator, has just closed a Series A financing round of €6.3 million led by Kibo Ventures, one of Spain’s leading VC firms. Other investors in this round include the German venture capital firm Amplifier, as well as Bonsai Partners, a reputed VC fund from Spain. Moreover, Sacha Michaud, co-founder of Glovo and a previous investor of the company, participates in this funding round and joins the firm as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board.

The fresh capital will support the firm’s international expansion and consolidate its three main European corridors, building its presence in Benelux, Germany, and Poland and offering a wider range of routes to their existing and future clients. The new funds will also help grow the current team and incorporate new talent.

Founded in 2018, Trucksters is changing the way freight transport operates by reducing transit times by 50%, and, importantly, improving the lives of lorry drivers, who can sleep many more nights at home. With more than 30 employees, Trucksters is present in Madrid, the company’s headquarters, Valencia, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece. The team will be opening new offices in Galicia, Spain, and Dortmund, Germany over the coming months as they aim to revolutionize road haulage in an efficient, sustainable, and thoughtful manner.

Luis Bardají Izard, CEO and co-founder of Trucksters, commented: “It is a huge thrill to be making this leap forward as a company. Kibo Ventures, together with our new and existing partners, bring incredible know-how and experience which will help immensely with our company’s vision: to make non-stop transport the standard in Europe, improving the lives of drivers and making the logistics ecosystem more sustainable in every way.”

Trucksters was born to address the needs of an industry in disruption. On one hand, end customers demanding faster and more reliable delivery times, putting stress on the entire supply chain and making time the key aspect to consider when choosing transport providers. Secondly, the impressive growth of e-commerce, further accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the urgent need to optimise company logistics. Trucksters harnesses its relay model to make the most of these trends, achieving air transport times at land transport prices.

Aquilino Peña, founder of Kibo Ventures, stated: “We are delighted to be part of the Trucksters family and to support Luis and the team in their mission to reinvent long distance freight transport and become a reference in Europe”. Our goal is to help Trucksters grow to expand its innovative business model, which is a win-win for all of us: the drivers, our customers, their end customers, Trucksters and the environment.”

Trucksters’ unique system allows truck drivers to sleep more days at home, as they drive shorter sections of longer routes and exchange semi-trailers at relay points with trucks transporting goods in the opposite direction. Thanks to these relays, the drivers’ quality of life is improved, and the firm’s customers receive a faster and more cost-efficient transport service.

The routes are planned with an artificial intelligence-based algorithm that optimises the variables of delivery time, cost and overnight stays away from home. A mobile app is used to communicate directly to drivers in real-time and assists in all of the verification processes related to the transport of goods within the Trucksters network, allowing documentation to be uploaded and fellow drivers identified.

Trucksters’ unique transport proposition is already being used by more than 500 companies including Lesaffre and Damm, and e-commerce giants such as Grupo Seur, and has moved more than 2,000 full truck loads (FTLs) in the past 12 months alone, and is growing at double-digit monthly rates.

Trucksters’ long-term vision is ambitious: the startup is currently working on a relay system which will act as a starting point to autonomous driving, where some parts of a journey will be done manually by drivers, and others automated. The firm also foresees the use of relays as a method for the electrification of long distances.

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Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr is the "Editor in Chief" of EU-Startups.com and started the blog in October 2010. He is excited about Europe's future, passionate about new business ideas and lives in Barcelona (Spain).
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